Stephen Tanzer 91-93
"Deep ruby. Lively aromas of fresh red berries, potpourri and Asian spices, with a hint of blood orange adding an exotic flourish. Smooth, seamless and focused on the palate, offering vibrant, mineral-tinged raspberry and bitter cherry flavors and a touch of anise. Supple tannins come on late and add shape to the long, sweet, penetrating finish."

Vinous Media 92
"Opaque ruby. Highly aromatic bouquet of black raspberry, peppery spices and potpourri, with a zesty mineral nuance providing focus. Spicy and penetrating, with very good clarity to its lively flavors of red berry preserves, rose pastille and spicecake. Shows potent floral and spicecake character on the long, gently tannic finish, which leaves a hint of smoky minerals behind. -- Josh Raynolds."

Wine Advocate 89-91
"More serious and age-worthy, the 2012 Chateauneuf du Pape is an impressive traditional cuvee that offers textbook black cherry, ground herbs, underbrush, leather, and spice-driven aromas and flavors. This medium-bodied, mid-weight effort is nicely balanced, with clean integrated acidity and fine tannin. It should have a decade or more of prime drinking. Drink 2015-2022. JD"

One of my favorite estates and a bastion of traditionally made, age-worthy wines, Clos du Mont-Olivet has been run by the Sabon family since 1932. Thierry Sabon, who studied physics before working at the estate, has made the wines since 2001. In top vintages, they produce three red Chateauneufs, a fruit-forward Petit Mont (meaning small hill), a classic traditional blend, and their top cuvee, the Cuvee du Papet. On top of this, they release a number of character-filled Cotes du Rhones. This is an estate that is at the top of their game.


" The flagship wine is composed predominately of Grenache (around 80%), with Syrah, Mouvèdre and Cinsault rounding out the blend. The wines are fermented in concrete vats and aged in large foudres. The grapes are partially de-stemmed (usually about 60%). The vines at this estate average over 60 years of age.

The grapes for this bottling are sourced from various lieu-dits from the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation: Montalivet, La Crau, Les Blachières, Coste Froide, Bois Seneseau, Palestor, Bois Dauphin, Pied de Baud, Les Bousquets, Les Parrans, Les Marines, Le Bois de la Ville, Cansaud, Les Gallimardes et Les Serres.

The wines of this estate, which traces its history back to 1547, are among the finest of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Run by the esteemed Sabon family, Clos du Mont-Olivet is made in a traditional style: partial destemming of grapes, crushing and fermenting in concrete vats, and aging in large foudres.

Making wine is a family affair at Clos du Mont Olivet, and the three Sabon brothers -- Jean-Claude, Pierre and Bernard have run the domaine for the last 30 years, with Bernard's son Thierry gradually assuming winemaking duties, starting gradually in 2001. The wines are composed predominantly of Grenache (usually around 80%), with Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault completing the blend. The vines of this estate average over 60 years old.

The 29-hectares of Chateauneuf du Pape that the domaine holds (they also have 17ha of Cotes du Rhone vineyards) is made up of many small parcels, spread throughout the appellation, that vary in size between 21 ares and 3 hectares. Montalivet is a walled vineyard to the east that surrounds the domaine and features the Sabons' oldest vines. Since 1990, these grapes have formed the basis for the deluxe "Cuvée Papet" - an amazingly concentrated and complex Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Further north, Le Pied-de-Baud contains "galets roulés," the large oval rocks for which Châteauneuf-du-Pape is well-known. Although the vines here are younger, the spherical stones reflect the intense southern-Rhone sun, thereby ripening the grapes to full maturity. The third primary section of vines, located to the south, is known as Les Gallimades, a plot of smaller stones and gravel with excellent drainage.

Blending wines sourced from these three areas, the Sabons fashion complex Châteauneuf-du-Pape that combines the fruit intensity and alcoholic strength of Grenache with a slight and appealing hint of rusticity. It only makes sense that such a renowned Châteauneuf producer would also make fabulous Cotes-du-Rhone, which indeed they do; year after year, these are among the best Cotes-du-Rhone values to be found. " ~ Winery notes