1978 Paul Jaboulet Aine Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Cedres

A typical Les Cèdres blend was two-thirds old-vine Grenache, with the balance largely Syrah. The winemaking was classic: whole-cluster fermentation in concrete tank, a month-long maceration and 12-18 months aging in foudre.Jaboulet’s carefully traditional winemaking made the most of its fruit, but what really made Les Cèdres so great at that time was their access to fruit from some of Châteauneuf’s greatest domaines.This was, after all, a time when the likes of Henri Bonneau, Domaine de Pegau, Clos St. Jean, Usseglio and scores of other now-famous domaines bottled little or no wine under their own label. And Jaboulet was famous for having long-term contracts to get the best of it.And we mean best. Robert Parker wrote many years ago that the 1967 Les Cèdres was made entirely from old-vine fruit from Ch. La Nerthe. It was not until the late 1980s that La Nerthe realized the fruit’s potential themselves, by creating its luxury Cuvée des Cadettes. But in the 1960s—and perhaps as late as th