Class of ‘89: Clos du Mont-Olivet and the birth of Châteauneuf’s cuvée spéciale

The 1989 vintage marked a transition in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a faultline between tradition and modernity. It witnessed the birth of the Cuvée Spéciale – elevated bottlings whose purpose was (and still is) to capture the very best of this extraordinary terroir.

Previously, the tradition in Châteauneuf was for an estate to produce a single red wine, and perhaps a single white, made by blending together all their various parcels.

But in 1989, a number of estates, such as Château de Beaucastel’s Hommage à Jacques Perrin, Domaine les Cailloux’s Cuvée Centenaire, Domaine de Marcoux’s Vieilles Vignes… and Clos du Mont-Olivet’s Cuvée du Papet, all started to create an additional premium bottling

They weren’t the first estates to do this. A handful of Cuvées Spéciales were made years before by estates such as Domaine Roger Sabon and Château la Nerthe.

But this collective new wave of 1989s rapidly moved the Cuvée Spéciale from the exception to the rule.

When I tasted the 1989 Cuvée du Papet in 2019, I was so impressed that it made one of my wines of the year .

Since then, I’ve been keen to get to know this cuvée better, and in January I was invited to a vertical tasting at the domaine.

The clos without a clos

In what can be an appellation of big personalities, Thierry Sabon is relatively self-effacing despite his winemaking talents.

He co-owns the Clos du Mont-Olivet estate with his cousins Céline and David. They represent the fourth generation; the estate was created in 1932 by their great-grandfather Séraphin Sabon.

The name Clos du Mont-Olivet is something of a misnomer – there is no actual clos (walled vineyard), but the estate was granted use of the term as it has been part of its name for so long.

Mont-Olivet refers to the lieu-dit Montalivet, which is home to their main parcel of vines. They have parcels in 15 different lieux-dits, making up 21ha in Châteauneuf, and soils are mostly sandy clay.

‘It’s good for making wines with finesse,’ says Thierry. ‘Sand is more and more sought after.’

Varieties are planted to match each individual vineyard, but Grenache dominates, followed by Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault.

They also grow some Counoise, Vaccarèse, Muscardin, Piquepoul Noir and Terret Noir.

They even have a small plantation just outside the appellation where they cultivate old varieties that were once grown in the appellation but are no longer permitted, such as Grand Noir and old Corsican grapes.

With climate change shaking things up, perhaps we’ll see a comeback.

What’s in a name

English speakers might assume the word Papet is somehow connected with the pope (le pape), but the name has a different origin. In the local Provençal dialect, papet means grandfather.

‘The name Papet emerged through a family consensus,’ says Céline, ‘a simple and heartfelt way to pay tribute to the courageous work of their grandfather Séraphin, whom everyone deeply admired.’

It was also chosen in reference to the character with the same name in the films Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources because, ‘they captured with great accuracy the rural world and the deep-rooted values of peasant life at that time,' she says.

It’s a reminder that La Cuvée du Papet was created in a different era, before Châteauneuf-du-Pape had enjoyed its modern renaissance. The appellation’s resurgence in the 1990s was partly thanks to these new bottlings and the attention they attracted.

What’s in the bottle

The original idea for La Cuvée du Papet came from Pierre Sabon, Céline’s father. Rather than a specific plot, a selection of the most promising fruit is made each year in their vineyards, with the lieux-dits Montalivet, Bois Dauphin and La Crau typically making ‘the backbone of the cuvée,’ according to Thierry.

The parcels and varieties, usually around 80% Grenache topped up with Syrah and Mourvèdre, are cofermented.

Thierry includes around 50% whole bunch, which ‘brings these particular aromas, little delicate fruits,’ from the intracellular fermentation, and ‘the stems bring a tannic side and a menthol element, freshness on the palate and length,’ he says.

Working with stems can be a double-edged sword. Pick too early, and wines can suffer from harsh, drying tannins.

But wait for well-ripened stems and the alcohol can become unbalanced and the fruit can taste jammy.

Overall, working with whole bunch here is a worthwhile choice. This wine has always been a potent style, displaying warming alcohol in more recent years.

But that’s the payoff for the tannic finesse and mentholated complexity that this cuvée develops with time in bottle – and the fruit is never jammy. Sometimes you have to take the warm with the smooth.

Not everybody agrees that the Cuvée Speciale has been a positive development in the evolution of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Many estates jumped on the bandwagon in the 1990s, producing overblown, heavy or oaky wines that didn’t stand the test of time.

But the first few vintages of La Cuvée du Papet are undeniably brilliant wines, that still reverberate today with the greatness of this terroir.

They vindicate Pierre Sabon, and the revolutionary class of ‘89.

13 wines back to 1989

Wines are listed youngest to oldest

Related articles

• Château Rayas: The enduring winemaking mysteries behind this Rhône icon
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2024: Best picks from a fresh and vibrant bunch
• ‘Vieille Julienne’s Réservé is Grenache in excelsis’: Matt Walls on a Châteauneuf stand out