Domaine de la Janasse · Courthezon
2021 Domaine de la Janasse Cuvee Vieilles Vignes Chateauneuf-du-Pape, France
A place on your wine list
The flagship Chateauneuf-du-Pape from the Sabon family. Old-vine Grenache across four terroirs, including the galets. Built for a serious lamb or game list.
Winery SRP $150 per bottle
Why this bottle belongs on the list
Two selling points.
Then the market.
Aimé built the cellar. Christophe has run it since 1991.
Aimé Sabon came home from military service in 1967, took back family vines from the cooperative and the negociant, and built his own cellar in 1973. He named the domaine for the family farm at La Janasse in Courthezon. Fifteen hectares then. More than 90 now. Christophe studied in Beaune, took the keys in 1991, and split the wines instead of blending everything into one Cuvee. Isabelle, an oenologist, joined in 2001. Wine Spectator visited in 2025 and still found Aimé in the vineyard.
Flagship old vines. Four terroirs in one bottle.
Vieilles Vignes is the house's top red, not Chaupin and not the Tradition. Vines 80 to 100 years old. Four complementary soils: rolled pebbles for power, sand for freshness, red clay for structure, limestone slopes for finesse. About 15,000 bottles. Yield around 28 hl/ha. This is the cuvee the domaine puts at the top of the rankings.
Professional scores
What the press wrote on this vintage.
Named critic scores on this exact 2021. These are press ratings, not the Wine-Searcher aggregate of 93.
The buyer's perspective
What the guest
hears first.
A cooler, smaller Southern Rhone year. The winery's own note: crushed black fruit and garrigue, finesse on the palate. Staff can sell it in one sentence: old-vine Grenache from Janasse, pair it with rosemary lamb.
Founder's corner
Built the cellar in 1973 · Courthezon · the family still farms the galets
Aimé
Sabon
Aimé Sabon returned from military service in 1967 and took over vines his father had been delivering to the cooperative and his father-in-law had been selling to negociants. In 1973 he built his own cellar. Domaine de la Janasse was born, named for the family farm at the lieu-dit La Janasse in Courthezon.
He kept buying parcels. Fifteen hectares became more than 90, across Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cotes du Rhone, villages, and IGP. The photograph on this page is Aimé in those vines, holding the rolled pebbles that define the southern plots.
Christophe joined in 1991 after viticulture and oenology in Beaune and a commercial diploma in Macon. Aimé handed him the cellar immediately. Isabelle, Christophe's sister, arrived in 2001 as oenologist. Juliette, Christophe's eldest, joined in March 2026. The 2021 Vieilles Vignes is still a family wine.
The estate
Four soils.
One flagship.
The domaine sits in Courthezon, on the eastern side of the appellation. More than sixty plots. Grenache is the soul of the house. Christophe has said you can keep Grenache alone on sand or clay, but on stones you need Syrah for balance.
Vieilles Vignes is an assemblage of four terroirs: southern pebbles for body, a Chaupin-like cooler soil for acidity, northern red clay with galets for structure, and sandy limestone for smoothness. Chaupin itself is a separate 100 percent Grenache bottling. This wine is the blend.
Organic farming, certified from the 2024 vintage. Hand harvest. In the cellar Christophe and Isabelle destem between 50 and 80 percent, punch down by hand, and macerate three to four weeks. Grenache ages in foudre. Syrah and Mourvedre see barrels.
2021 in the glass
Black fruit.
Garrigue.
A cooler year.
The winery calls Vieilles Vignes its flagship, always at the top of international rankings. Dark robe with purple reflections. On the nose, still-discreet crushed black fruits and garrigue, waiting to melt into a noble, fresh substance. Finesse and elegance on the palate. Keep it; the house pairs it with jugged hare a la Royale. Jeb Dunnuck (94) called the 2021 one of the top wines of the vintage: mostly Grenache with Mourvedre and Syrah, black cherries, redcurrants, peppery herbs, graphite. Wine Advocate (96) noted velvety waves of ripe black cherries and black raspberries, concentrated without heaviness. Those scores are critic notes, not a Wine-Searcher aggregate. About 75 percent Grenache, 15 percent Mourvedre, 5 percent Syrah, and a little Clairette Rose hiding in the old Grenache. 80 percent destemmed. 28-day maceration. Twelve months, three-quarters foudre and one-quarter 600-liter demi-muids.
Menu and service
Built for a serious table.
- Rosemary rack of lamb or loin chops
- Slow Provençal stew or daube
- Mushroom, lentil, and garrigue herbs
Serve around 60–64°F in a generous Rhone stem. Taste on opening. A 30–60 minute decant helps the 2021 show the garrigue.
Staff pairing clip
Joshua Weissman cooks lamb
The tableside introduction
“This is Janasse's flagship, Vieilles Vignes, from Aimé Sabon's family in Courthezon. Old Grenache on four soils, including the galets. Black fruit and garrigue. Pour it with rosemary lamb.”
Ready for your team
Put the story to work.
Shelf talker
A concise bottle story for guest-facing displays. No trade price.
Download PDFServer card
The pitch, menu matches, and service notes in a compact format.
Download PDFFull trade sheet
Sabon family, four terroirs, tasting, market context, and the case offer.
Download PDFOrder the case
Put Vieilles Vignes on the list.
Flagship Chateauneuf from the Sabon family. Trade $57 a bottle, $684 the twelve-bottle case, one-case minimum.
