1989 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Papet

This 60-acre estate of the Sabon brothers is highly fragmented. The oldest vines, located in a 20-acre Clos (an entirely walled vineyard from which the estate draws its name), produced the 540 cases of 1989 Cuvee Papet and 650 cases of the 1990 Cuvee Papet, the first two luxury/old vine cuvees the Sabons have ever made. They require significant cellaring. No new oak is utilized at this estate. In contrast with Les Cailloux's Cuvee Centenaire, the Cuvee Papets exhibit far more tannin and rusticity, as well as some of the weedy, herbal, green pepper character of Grenache, massive body, and exhilarating concentration and extract. The 1990 Cuvee Papet displays more openness and greater ripeness than the spectacular 1989. Both wines should be cellared for another 4-5 years; they will easily last through the first decade of the next century. The 1985 Chateauneuf du Pape demonstrates one of my major concerns at Clos du Mont-Olivet - it often takes as long as ten years to bottle a given vintage, resulting in unacceptable bottle variation. It is a practice employed by far too many Chateauneuf du Pape estates, and unfortunately, is too rarely criticized. Because the wines tend to dry out in the windy, hot, dry climate of Chateauneuf du Pape, a wine bottled 4, 6, or 8 years later than a wine bottled after 14-16 months of cask aging will be completely different. Usually less fresh, fat, and concentrated, it will, in short, be a lesser wine. Rarely does the reverse exist. The bottle variation that plagues Clos du Mont-Olivet and other Chateauneuf du Pape estates needs to be rectified by the appellation authorities. It is a shame, as the raw materials are excellent. Readers are advised to always purchase the earliest releases, and approach those wines released 5-8 years after the harvest with caution. Importers: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083 and A Peter Vezan Selection, (Paris fax # 011 33 1 42554293) various American importers.