By Linden Wilkie, 3 Aug 2017

Hermitage. For a long stretch of time in the 18^th and 19^th centuries it played the supporting role to Bordeaux – the ‘medicine’ for poor vintages in the Médoc. The greatest writer on the subject – John Livingstone-Learmonth* painstakingly traces the many “coincidences” between very good Bordeaux vintages and vintages in which the Bordeaux trade were able to buy large quantities of good quality Hermitage. I couldn’t possibly comment. But “Claret Hermitagé”, was more than an open secret, it even featured on some labels as a sign of quality!

Paul Jaboulet Aîné have been owners at Hermitage since 1889, but pre-WW2 bottles are exceptionally scarce. My fascination with their estate Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’ began in 1992 when it was one of the first top tier French wines I tasted at my university’s wine club – 1985 and 1983 side by side. I still recall the extraordinary combination of sweet blackberry-like fruit, roast meat, herbs and pepper, and an almost honey-like glycerin-laden edge. The richly tannic 1983 was forbidding next to the summery, succulent 1985.

This week I hosted a little vertical of ‘La Chapelle’ in our shop. To be fair, past tastings have revealed some variability in the wines of the 1980s to early 2000s, but on this night everything was shining. Many attendees put in orders for the wines on the spot – when you look at the prices for these mature examples and compare them to, ahem, other regions, they offer a lot of fine wine for your dollar.

Last month I had the chance to visit that iconic hill, take the compulsory tourist snap next to the little chapel, take a look at some different lieus dits within the hill (which, after all, covers some 130ha from southwest to southeast exposure), and take in the scene: Tain-l’Hermitage and the flat vineyards of Crozes-Hermitage to the south, and across the river to Turnon-sur-Rhône and its St.-Joseph syrah-bearing slopes.

After an extensive tour and tasting at Jaboulet’s facilities, I was impressed with the work Caroline Frey and her team have done over the past decade. The whites here are now very fine. And the Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’ is made with precision and painstaking care (and is now a much smaller production/selection). The 2014 I tasted reminded me of some of the classics. I’ve yet to taste the 2015, but they are very proud of it and it has received some rave reviews. We have some available en primeur, including some rare formats. I suggest you secure some, and while you are waiting, try some of the older vintages, ready to drink…

*If you don’t already own a copy of his Wines of the Northern Rhone, you should.

By Louis Tsang, 26 January 2022

I always have a soft spot in my heart for Rhône, especially Northern Rhône. It is not difficult to find well-crafted wine from that region that does not break the bank. Among all the producers, Paul Jaboulet Aîné is my safe and go-to option, and I am particularly fond of three of their wines - ‘Domaine de Thalabert’, ‘La Maison Bleue’ and ‘La Chapelle’.

‘Domaine de Thalabert’ was the first vineyard purchased by Antoine Jaboulet and is the oldest vineyard in Crozes-Hermitage. It now covers 40 hectares and is planted with Syrah vines that are approximately 40 to 60 years old. These vines are grown in gravelly soil, and the yields are kept low to promote optimal ripeness and concentration.

‘La Chapelle’ is the famous vineyard here, named for a 13th Century chapel built atop the iconic hill of Hermitage. We have hosted several ‘La Chapelle’ vertical tastings in the past few years, and every time I was impressed by how well these wines performed. The wines of the '60s, '70s and '80s were fully mature and represent some of the best ‘La Chapelle’ examples, while those from the 2015 vintage and after are absolute knockouts and well deserving of the acclaimed scores given by many critics. This is clear evidence that the Frey family has done a brilliant job in the estate and vineyards since their takeover in 2006.

‘La Maison Bleue’ comes mostly from eastern side vineyards on the Hermitage hill where the soils are deeper, less stony, and the slope is flatter. The result is a promising wine which speaks of great balance between big concentration and fine acidity, and comes at a bargain price. This is one of my favourite food wines on our shelves right now, and I like to give the wine a lot of air to let it fully express itself.

Last year my friends and I did a blind tasting with the 1985 ‘Domaine Thalabert’ and 1988 ‘La Chapelle’. Both were mesmerizing and fun to drink. The ‘Domaine Thalabert’ was mostly mistaken for a mature Burgundy Village wine. It was loaded with lovely aromatics of sweet fruit and tea leaf, which immediately drew everyone’s attention. The ‘La Chapelle’ had more concentration in contrast to the light palate of the '85, and it was so nuanced and elegant that the table was evenly split between Burgundy and Hermitage.

Just as any other top wines in the world, these Jaboulet wines are full packages. Plus they offer a lot of fine wine for your dollar, especially when compared with other regions.