Domaine de la Janasse
CDP Vieilles Vignes
Chateauneuf du Pape
2010

The producer

Domaine de la Janasse – founded by Aime Sabon in 1973 and named after one of the finer parcels of this domaine in the northern sector of the appellation – is today run by Aime’s children, the siblings Isabelle and Christophe.

Now with 18 hectares under vine in the commune of Courtezon in the northeast of the appellation and with a substantial portion in the prestigious ‘La Crau’ lieu-dit, this is a go-to name for top Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The vineyards are currently under conversion to organic farming and the Sabon’s are expecting certification in 2024.

The wines of Janasse show richness and depth with a fine tannic structure, finely textured wines that develop finesse in the bottle. The Vieille Vignes is a blend of Grenache with Syrah and Mourvedre while the ‘Cuvee Chaupin’ is 100% Grenache from vines dating back to 1912 predominantly from the ‘Chapouin’ lieu-dit.

1.5 hectares of vineyards are dedicated to 60 year-old white varieties, mostly Grenache Blanc with Clairette and Roussanne. Grenache Blanc and Clairette are tank-fermented while Roussanne is fermented in mostly new oak. The result is a rich and textured Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc of real class. We offer both red and white wine from Domaine de Janasse.

The wine

Vieilles Vignes is a blend of around 65% Grenache with a smaller proportion of Syrah and Mourvedre, and soupcons of many of the other permitted varieties. The vines are from 60 to 100 years old growing in four different parcels of different terroirs which each gives something different to the blend. The majority of the wine is aged in foudre, with the remainder ageing in the smaller demi-muids, of which around half are new. This is Chateauneuf of finesse and elegance, yet with great concentration of fruit and firm structure which leads into a very long finish.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.