Ratings:
96-98
Joe Czerwinski - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
"The 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes looks as if it will be a worthy successor to the awesome 2015 and 2016 bottlings. From tank, the Grenache shows lovely cherry-berry fruit, ample weight and richness and a long, silky finish, while the Mourvèdre from a new oak barrel stood up to the wood well, offering more red fruits, less alcohol and hints of toast and baking spices."
95-97 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com
"Deeper ruby/purple-colored, the 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes includes slightly less Grenache than normal and is 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, and the rest a mix of permitted varieties. It offers more blackberry, cassis, peppery herbs, and crushed rocks, with a beautiful sense of minerality. Rich, full-bodied, concentrated and focused, it shows an elegant, vibrant side to the vintage yet still has the expected Janasse power and depth."
Product Description:
"The cuvée Vieilles Vignes is from 60-110+ year old vines of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah along with smaller percentages of other permitted varieties that are grown in these old vineyards. The wine is sourced from 4 terroirs: pebbly clay, sand, gravelly red clay and sandy limestone.
Over the last quarter century, Domaine de la Janasse has become one of the most highly-regarded estates in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Led by siblings Christophe and Isabelle Sabon, the estate combines the best of both traditional and modern techniques to craft a collection of truly riveting wines from “simple” value-priced VDP’s to their benchmark Châteauneufs.
The estate was founded in 1976 by Aimé Sabon, the father of Christophe and Isabelle, who still oversees the vineyards. The property consists of 40 hectares, spread over as many as 70 different parcels throughout the appellation. The terroirs range from sandy soils, as can be found in their well-known plots in the North of the appellation – Chapouin and La Janasse– to lightly-colored clay limestone soils and gravelly red clay and galets, most notable in their plots in Le Crau in the South. While Aimé works the vineyards organically, his children, Christophe and Isabelle, arxe in charge of wine production. Christophe is a self-proclaimed “great defender of Grenache,” which still represents 75% of their vines. With assistance from Aimé’s farming and Isabelle efforts in the cellar, he harnesses the typical exuberance of Grenache-based wines through careful vinifications that respect both terroir and vintage The results are a wide range of rich and flavorful Châteauneuf-du-Papes, Côtes-du-Rhônes and Vins de Pays that are complex and balanced – often in contradiction to an region better known for sheer size and power.
The reds from Janasse are frequently considered to be among the best in the region whether it is their pleasingly complex Côtes-du-Rhone and Côtes-du-Rhône Villages or their three bottlings of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Not surprisingly the aptly named Tradition is the most reserved of their Châteauneufs while Chaupin and Vieilles Vignes are studies in contrast, between the purity of Grenache from sandy soil clearly evident in the former, to the intensity and power of the later – an indication of the age of the vines, the range of soils from which they are sourced and the density afforded by the addition of old-vine Syrah and Mourvedre to their centenary Grenache." -Importer
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