Some wines tell the story of a vintage. Others tell the story of a family. La Cuvée du Papet tells both.
At Clos du Mont-Olivet, we have never thought of it as merely a prestige cuvée. Since its first vintage in 1989, it has embodied our vision of Châteauneuf-du-Pape: a wine crafted with patience, only when nature offers us an exceptional balance.
A wine capable of enduring through decades without losing its soul.
An idea born from a conviction
The story of Cuvée du Papet does not begin in 1989, but a year earlier.
In 1988, we were already discussing the idea of creating a different cuvée, made exclusively from our oldest plots. The vintage was superb, but the project remained at the reflection stage. It was finally with the 1989 vintage that this intuition came to life.
At that time, Pierre Sabon, who took over winemaking and blending at the estate after Joseph Sabon in 1978, proposed selecting only the best of the harvest, from the oldest vines of Clos du Mont-Olivet, some already a hundred years old. From the outset, a rule naturally imposed itself: "We will only produce Cuvée du Papet in very great vintages."
This cuvée must never exist to the detriment of the balance of our traditional cuvée. It should not respond to commercial logic, but to an obvious fact. When nature offers an exceptional vintage, we give it a particular expression. Otherwise, we prefer to abstain. It is this exacting standard that still defines the identity of Cuvée du Papet today.
Why "Papet"?
The choice of name came almost naturally.
We wanted to pay tribute to our grandfather Séraphin Sabon, whose courage, vision, and work profoundly marked the history of our family and Clos du Mont-Olivet. In Provençal, Papet means "grandfather".
This word also had a particular resonance in the late 1980s thanks to the films Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, in which the character played by Yves Montand is affectionately called Papet. These films accurately depicted the rural world, its attachment to the land, transmission, sacrifices, and love of well-done work. These values are still at the heart of our daily lives.
A turning point for Châteauneuf-du-Pape
At the same time, a young American journalist regularly tasted the wines presented by Châteauneuf-du-Pape producers.
Upon discovering these new single-vineyard cuvées, he awarded them exceptional scores that helped the appellation shine far beyond French borders. This journalist was named Robert Parker. His perspective helped to firmly establish Châteauneuf-du-Pape among the world's greatest appellations.
Our oldest vines, our finest memory
The Cuvée du Papet comes from our oldest plots.
Some of our old Grenache vines, complemented by Mourvèdre and Syrah depending on the vintage, were planted more than a century ago. Their deep roots allow them to remarkably convey all the richness of Châteauneuf-du-Pape terroirs.
The rolled pebbles, red clays, sands, and limestones are not merely geological components. They become the foundations of the wine's identity. Each vintage tells a different nuance of these terroirs that we have cultivated for several generations.
A great aging wine above all
We have never sought to produce the most powerful wine.
We have always sought to produce the most balanced wine.
Since the first vintage, the Cuvée du Papet has been conceived as a great aging wine, capable of maturing for several decades while maintaining its balance, energy, and freshness.
When we taste a Papet 1990 today, we don't feel like we're opening an old bottle; rather, we have the impression of discovering a wine that still has an immense journey ahead of it. This is undoubtedly what fascinates us the most: seeing a wine evolve without ever losing its identity.
Much more than a wine
For us, the Cuvée du Papet goes far beyond the notion of a great wine. It carries the memory of all the generations who preceded us. It tells the story of gestures repeated for decades, sometimes difficult choices, silent sacrifices, happy seasons, and more demanding years.
With each tasting, we find something profoundly alive. As if time erases nothing. As if each bottle preserves the trace of those who nurtured it.
The most faithful expression of Clos du Mont-Olivet
The Cuvée du Papet is today the most accomplished expression of our philosophy.
Produced only in the greatest vintages, from our oldest vines, and crafted with the same rigor for over thirty-five years, it represents what we seek to convey through each of our wines.
Because at Clos du Mont-Olivet, we do not believe that wine is merely a product. We believe it is a living material, shaped by a terroir, by time, and by the women and men who cultivate it.
The Cuvée du Papet is the reflection of this conviction. A great Châteauneuf-du-Pape that transcends decades with the same serenity as on the first day, and which, with each opened bottle, continues to bring our history to life.
