Châteauneuf-du-Pape Clos du Mont-Olivet 1981

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Sabon family came into possession of this lieu-dit. The domain was then founded in 1932 by Séraphin Sabon when he married Marie, daughter of Romain Jausset who owned a few parcels, including this one in Châteauneuf. Today, the domain is in its 4th generation and spans 20 hectares (and 10 supplementary hectares in the Côtes-du-Rhône). Grenache is the dominate variety that is blended with Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault and, in smaller portions, Counoise, Vaccarèse, Muscardin, Picpoul Noir and Terret Noir. White varieties include Grenache, Picpoul and Picardin. Old barrels give the wines of Clos Mont Olivet their lightly oaked characteristic. This domain is Châteauneuf at its best thanks to parcels situated in some of the finest areas of the appellation. These wines have immense ageing potential.

The grapes of this Châteauneuf come from a wide variety of localities, north and east of the appellation. The soils consist mainly of quartzite colluvium, marine clays, sands and molassic sandstone. During harvest, the grapes are poured into the vats using gravity, following partial destemming, aiming for smooth extraction to give freshness to the wine. The free run juice and pressing juice are aged separately, and after blending, ageing will take place in foudres and oak barrels which have been used for several wines.