Domaine de la Janasse estate spotlight
Christophe and Isabelle Sabon are on camera for Jysk Vin at Domaine de la Janasse, walking the vineyards and cellar behind this Vieilles Vignes, the flagship old-vine cuvee of the Sabon family.
The market on this bottle
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2022 Domaine de la Janasse Cuvee Vieilles Vignes Chateauneuf-du-Pape, France
Christophe and Isabelle Sabon's flagship old-vine Chateauneuf, Decanter 98 and a Wine Spectator Top 100 slot, a 2022 you can cellar at seventy-five dollars.
The 2022 Vieilles Vignes is Grenache-led with Syrah and Mourvedre from old parcels: crushed black fruit, garrigue, licorice, and a tannic core built for time, now $75.
The Sabon flagship in a powerful year, not a village blend with extra oak
Vieilles Vignes is where Janasse's oldest parcels speak as one wine. Hail cut a La Crau block that usually feeds this cuvee, so 2022 is tighter in volume and still huge in the glass. Wine Spectator put it at 95 and in the Top 100 of 2024: black licorice, cherry paste, spiced plum, black-tea tannin. Decanter 98 called it statuesque, a long wait with rich rewards. Jeb Dunnuck found ripe black cherries, melted licorice, spring flowers, and gravelly earth.
The house
Aime Sabon built the cellar in Courthezon in 1973. Christophe joined in 1991, Isabelle in 2001. More than sixty parcels stay separate until the blends are tasted into place.
The wine
Old-vine Grenache from pebbles, sand, red clay, and limestone. About 80% destemmed, concrete ferment, twelve months in foudre and demi-muid. 15.5% ABV.
The scores
Decanter 98. Wine Spectator 95 and Top 100 #79 of 2024. Jeb Dunnuck 95 to 97. James Suckling 94. Wine Advocate 93.
The drinker
Black fruit and garrigue first. Decant 90 minutes if opening now. Serve near 60 F. Garlic-rosemary lamb or a slow short-rib pot.
Power first, then garrigue and a tannic line that needs time
The estate still calls the nose discreet: crushed black fruits and garrigue waiting to melt into a noble, fresh substance. Wine Spectator found black licorice, cherry paste, and spiced plum with grilled cedar, anise, and smoke. James Suckling added preserved cherries, spices, and bitter chocolate on a highly structured palate. Vinous wanted 2030 before the tannic core settles.
A warm, dense Southern Rhone year. Hail wiped a La Crau parcel that normally goes into Vieilles Vignes, cutting volume by about a third. What remains is concentrated, structured, and built for a long hold.
Crushed black fruit, cherry paste, spiced plum, garrigue, licorice, flowers, grilled cedar.
Full, opulent, a wall of tannin, 15.5% ABV, foudre and demi-muid rather than new-oak gloss.
Long, smoky, anise. Serve near 60 F. Decant 90 minutes now, or hold into the late 2030s.
Parcel work first, then large oak for breath
Janasse still builds this cuvee lot by lot so pebbles, sand, red clay, and limestone stay visible after the blend. Fruit is harvested by hand, about 80 percent destemmed, then macerated around 28 days with daily pigeage in concrete.
Wine Advocate listed the 2022 as 85 percent Grenache Noir with 5 percent Syrah, 5 percent Mourvedre, and 5 percent other authorized varieties. Decanter's technical note has twelve months in foudre and demi-muid before assembly.
The point is old-vine density without a new-oak costume. Serve near 60 F. Ninety minutes of air is for garrigue and the savory close, not a rescue.
From one family cellar to a sixty-parcel mosaic
Janasse grew in scale and kept the small-lot thinking that gives Vieilles Vignes its layered identity.
Domaine de la Janasse began in 1973, when Aime Sabon returned to family land and built a cellar in Courthezon.
Christophe Sabon joined in 1991, followed by his sister Isabelle in 2001. They kept their father's parcel-by-parcel discipline, farming more than sixty sites and holding each lot distinct until the blends take shape.
Vieilles Vignes is where that mosaic becomes one voice: old Grenache shaped by soils that sit only short distances apart.
Roast, braise, wait
Herbs, browned meat, and slow-cooked depth meet the wine's black fruit, garrigue, and tannin. This 2022 wants a plate with patience, not a snack.
Two plates. One garlic-rosemary rack of lamb. One pot of red-wine short ribs. Both can take old-vine Grenache and a 2022 tannic core.
Serve around 60 F. A 90 minute decant is a practical start if opening now. Hold if you can.
Garlic-Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb
Food & Wine's garlic-rosemary crust and a fast, hot roast keep the meat juicy while building the browned edges this wine loves.
Why it works: Rosemary echoes garrigue, garlic meets the savory notes, and lamb richness softens the Grenache-led tannins.
View Recipe for garlic-crusted roast rack of lamb (opens in a new tab)
Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Ribs
Serious Eats layers seared beef, mirepoix, tomato, red wine, stock, and herbs into a slow braise with real depth.
Why it works: The sauce mirrors the wine's dark fruit and savory register, while acidity keeps the braise from feeling heavy.
View Recipe for red wine-braised beef short ribs (opens in a new tab)Put this old-vine Janasse in the cart
Decanter 98. Wine Spectator Top 100. Seventy-five dollars against a $150 typical retail.
Put it in the cart. This is the Sabon flagship from a dense 2022, priced for a cellar that still wants to drink Chateauneuf.
