Top Collectible Wines

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The tiny production 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Le Secret Des Sabon is a field blend of mostly Grenache brought up all in wooden tronconique barrels. It’s closest in style to the Prestige Cuvée yet brings another level of opulence and richness without losing any sense of elegance or class. Blackberries, peppery herbs, graphite, crushed violets, and a liquid rock-like minerality all define the nose, and it hits the palate with incredible depth of fruit, full-bodied richness, and ripe yet building tannins. While the acidity is technically quite low (the pH is 3.8), it holds onto an undeniable sense of freshness and purity. It is just a thrilling, magical wine from this estate. While young and unevolved, with 3-5 years of cellaring required, it is a modern-day legend capable of evolving for over two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDA top-notch effort, the 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape le Secret de Sabon—a blend of two old-vine Grenache parcels from sandier soils—offers up some floral and raspberry notes set against a dark backdrop of plums, mocha and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, dense and rich, it’s almost fudge-like in intensity, but with adequate freshness, a deeply plush texture and tremendous length on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPShimmering ruby. Powerful, mineral-accented black raspberry and cherry liqueur aromas are complemented by incense, licorice and potpourri flourishes. Juicy, sweet and impressively concentrated, offering palate-staining red/blue fruit, spicecake and lavender pastille flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Brawny yet surprisingly lithe as well, showing outstanding clarity and youthfully chewy tannins on the strikingly long, floral and spice-tinged finish.Vinous Media | 96 VMJuicy, dense and packed, yet remarkably defined, with a mix of plum and racy-edged blackberry, boysenberry and raspberry reduction flavors, all laced with a licorice snap thread. Black tea, garrigue and humus accents underscore the finish as the fruit sails through with aplomb. A beauty. Drink now through 2038. 125 cases made, 42 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSVery dark, powerful, slightly tarry and roasted with a very intense - almost too intense - acidity. Surprisingly dark for Grenache on sandy soils, extremely concentrated. A driving, focussed, mineral expression that will take some time to reach its peak. Long finish. 3,000 bottles made. Mostly grown on sand, fermented in stainless steel, then aged in tronconic wooden vats. Drinking Window 2022 - 2045.Decanter | 96 DEC

The 2000 possesses an impenetrable black/purple color as well as a sumptuous bouquet of melted licorice, creosote, new saddle leather, blackberry and cherry fruit as well as roasted meats. Sweet and full-bodied, with great intensity, huge power, and a finish that lasts for 67 seconds by my watch, this is an amazing tour de force in winemaking. Even in a flattering, forward-styled vintage such as 2000, it will need 7-8 years of cellaring, yet this is the most accessible Jacques Perrin I have tasted. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2040.Robert Parker | 99 RP(the blend, based on 60% mourvedre, was to have been bottled a week after my visit) Saturated bright deep ruby. Incredible kaleidoscope of a nose: blackberry, currant, violet, espresso, bitter chocolate, truffle, eucalyptus, gibier, licorice, pepper and wild spices. Similarly multifaceted in the mouth; hugely concentrated and lush but lively and light on its feet. This boasts an extraordinary core of dark fruit. Finishes extremely long, juicy and young. This is even stronger than it appeared to be a year ago. In comparison to this wine, the 1999 version, which I retasted alongside the 2000, was a bit more port-like, with strong notes of fruit cake and maple syrup and a superripe, chocolatey finish; I rated the wine 96 but felt that the 2000 showed even greater long-term potential.Vinous Media | 95-98 VMA wine that continues to show beautifully is the 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Still vibrant ruby-colored with an incredible nose of blackcurrants, beef blood, truffle, incense and cured meats, it’s a huge, opulent, concentrated 2000 that has a stacked mid-palate, sweet tannin, no hard edges and a finish that just won’t quit. It’s a heavenly red that can be enjoyed anytime over the coming two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDA seducer, this Old World blockbuster dazzles with its class. Ultrarich, pitch-black, it remains elegant and refined despite its monster structure, but it’s open-knit, delivering earthy, mineral, iron and wet fur character along with the plum and blackberry. Long, refined finish. Drink now through 2025. 500 cases made. — PMWine Spectator | 95 WS(Château de Beaucastel, Hommage à Jacques Perrin, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône, France, Red) Bloody on the nose, fresh meat and iron. Mature now, with some earthy notes among the autumnal fruits underpinned by a distinctly spicy aromatic vein. Only medium-bodied, ready to drink now, in fact it’s time to drink up - it’s unlikely to improve. Sappy acidity and a touch of polished wood on the finish. Tannins are a little lacking in finesse, but there’s good complexity and a regal touch - ageing royalty. (Drink between 2020-2022)Decanter | 94 DEC(Châteauneuf du Pape “Hommage à Jacques Perrin”- Château de Beaucastel) The 2000 Hommage from Château de Beaucastel is quite marked by brettanomyces and this will affect one’s appreciation of the wine, depending on one’s tolerance of brett. The bouquet is a mix of cassis, saddle leather, a fair bit of barnyard, dark soil tones and a topnote of bonfires. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and classically proportioned, with a good core, moderate tannins and a long, nascently complex finish that closes with good grip. If one really dislikes brett, then deduct several points from my score, but for those with some tolerance, this is a good bottle in the making- though still in need of far more time in the cellar to really blossom! (Drink between 2025-2055)John Gilman | 92 JG

One of the great vintages from this estate, surpassing even the 1990, 2000, 2001, 2003, and maybe the 2010 (time will tell with this one), the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape from Vincent Avril delivers everything you could want from a wine. Full-bodied, intense and beautifully concentrated, with plenty of muscle and depth, it shows the hallmark elegance and purity of the estate, with sensational notes of kirsch liqueur, raspberries, incense, smoked meats and Asian spices. The blend is the normal 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah and the rest a mix of permitted varieties, brought up all in older foudre, and it’s just now entering its prime drink window and has another two decades of longevity.Robert Parker | 100 RPTaking the better part of the evening to open up, and really not shining until the second day, the monumental 2007 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape has shed some of the bombastic levels of fruit it possessed on release, and is developing into a textbook Clos des Papes that exudes richness, as well as finesse and elegance. Loaded with kirsch liqueur, licorice, crushed rock, flowers, and sweet spice, this full-bodied Châteauneuf-du-Pape hits the palate with a wealth of fruit and glycerin, yet remains perfectly balanced, seamless, and incredibly fresh and light. There’s no shortage of tannin or structure, and this needs a solid 4-5 years of bottle age to really start to hit its stride. It should be very long lived and any southern Rhône lover needs to have this wine in the cellar!Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDAbsolutely stunning, with a deep well of crème de cassis that’s thoroughly pure and captivating, while black tea, fig cake, hoisin sauce, incense and graphite notes weave throughout. The supervelvety finish lets blackberry, boysenberry and crushed cherry fruit take an encore—as if this needed any more fruit. A fantastic display of precision in a very opulent year. Best from 2010 through 2030. 8,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSDeep ruby. Powerful, pungent aromas of kirsch, dark berries, smoky herbs and spicecake, with notes of black olive and tobacco coming on with air. Chewy, palate-staining dark fruit flavors are complicated by bitter chocolate, licorice and black cardamom. Acts like a 2005 today, with serious structure but also superb depth of powerful, densely packed fruit. A hint of cherry skin adds grip and refreshing bitterness to the long, smoky, focused finish. Not an easy read right now: this demands cellaring.Vinous Media | 95+ VM

A monumental effort meriting a perfect score, the super-rich 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes is a 4,000-bottle blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah from 55- to 105-year-old vines and was aged for 18 months in small oak. The wine offers majestic blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with kirsch, licorice and subtle Provencal herbs in the background. It is akin to chewing meat in the mouth given its viscosity and thickness. This utterly amazing wine comes close to being over the top, but it pulls back just in time. A massive Chateauneuf du Pape (even for a 2010), it needs 5-6 years of cellaring and should age effortlessly for 25-30 years. Bravo!With impressive holdings in the northern sector of Chateauneuf du Pape as well as an ever expanding, high quality negociant business, brothers Christophe and Sebastian Jaume have taken this estate, established in 1826, to new heights. The estate wines, which are sold under the Domaine Grand Veneur label, are classic, quasi-modern-styled Chateauneuf du Papes that represent brilliant examples of their impeccable viticulture and winemaking. Interestingly, all three cuvees of Chateauneuf du Pape were produced in 2011. That decision appears to be justified by the quality of what I tasted as well as their potential for extended maturity beyond a decade. As for the 2010s, the Alain Jaume offerings and the Domaine Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone cuvees were all reviewed in my report on the wines of Kysela Pere et Fils in Issue #201. The 2010 Domaine Grand Veneur estate wines, especially the Chateauneuf du Papes, are brilliant.Robert Parker | 100 RPI absolutely loved this wine on release (I rated it 98+) and it certainly didn’t disappoint on this occasion. Made from a blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah that spent 18 months in mostly new barrels, this tour de force gives up killer notes of blackcurrants, scorched earth, wood smoke, cured meats and wild herbs. Deep, rich and concentrated, yet opulent and expansive, it’s just now starting to round the corner and is at the early stages of maturity. It will keep for another 15+ years.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDOpaque purple. Deeply pitched aromas of dark berry liqueur, cherry-cola, lavender and vanilla, with a spicy topnote. Fleshy, palate-staining blueberry and cassis flavors are lifted by juicy acidity and pick up a smoky quality with air. Supple and expansive on the endless finish, which strongly echoes the dark fruit and vanilla notes.Vinous Media | 95 VMRipe and packed, but well-focused, with a broad beam of linzer torte and boysenberry fruit backed by graphite, violet and pastis notes. Picks up plenty of muscle and toasted spice on the finish, showing lots of latent depth in reserve. Very solid. Best from 2014 through 2024. 250 cases made, 40 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS