Legacy subscribers to our Daily Discovery will be very familiar with today’s feature, because for years we’ve sung the praises of Clos du Mont-Olivet. This iconic address is the destination for lovers of meaty, elegant, old school, Southern Rhône masterpieces that offer incredible value to boot. Run by generations of the Sabon family since 1932, and headquartered in a stone house that overlooks the ancient papal castle that gave the town its name, Mont-Olivet is the equivalent of a Châteauneuf winemaking museum. And yet, the wines are always incredibly fresh and forward looking too. We were given access to a few cases of the excellent 2019 vintage, which is one of the best vintages that I’ve tasted of this wine in years. It’s ready to rock for the fall and well beyond, and priced so you can grab a nice little stash!
Thierry Sabon is the latest generation to head up this iconic estate, but he has preserved the methodologies than have served the family well over the years: Grapes are only partially de-stemmed before fermentation in cement tanks on native yeasts; this “partial whole cluster” fermentation helps to tamp down some of the richness and sweetness typical of southern Rhône reds, lending them a spicy backbone. Aging takes place exclusively in old, large-capacity foudre barrels, and the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. While Grenache is the driving force in their flagship cuvée (comprising 78% of today’s wine), there is a supporting cast of Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault adding layers of spice and complexity.
The use of 50% whole clusters, combined with the 30- to 40-year-old vines and deft touch of Thierry in the cellar, helps avoid the candied, cloying fruit and texture that many other Châteauneufs fall victim to. The Mont-Olivet wines always have lots of concentration but not so much that they feel overblown, sweet, or “hot”—there’s always plenty of freshness providing an all-important backbone and ballast. And because they have excellent parcels on the full range of local terroir–sand, gravel, and of course the large river stones known as Gallets Roulés–they can pick, choose, and blend very precisely each vintage to get the most expressive, elegant wine possible.
For the 2019 vintage that meant balancing the inherent power with good structure and a healthy dose of sites that are high on spice, herbs, and minerality. In the glass, it’s a deep, vibrant ruby-violet hue, moving to magenta at the rim, with powerful aromas of black and red fruits, violets, licorice, leather, wild herbs, and baking spices. It is full-bodied but focused, the fruit nicely framed by acidity and fine, firm tannins—beefy and muscular rather than soft and sweet. Decant it about 30 minutes before enjoying in Burgundy stems at 60 degrees, preferably with hearty, Southern French stews and roasts. Another way to go is Texas-style BBQ—a surprisingly spot-on pairing! As I write this, fall weather is just around the corner in most of the country, and the occasions for a bold, memorable red like this are increasing in number. Stock up!
