2012 Domaine Paul Jaboulet Anie, Hermitage “La Chapelle” Northern Rhône, France.
The gorgeous 2012 La Chapelle Hermitage, drinking incredibly well and with extreme purity, is obviously highly pedigreed stuff in the glass, this wine was tasted blind, but you could absolute not mistake where it was from and the noble class it delivered. As always, the La Chapelle, 100% Syrah, classically portioned with a full body, heightened aromatic perfume and an inviting deep inky color that leads to a remarkably pure cascade of flavors in the mouth, giving layers of boysenberry, damson plum, kirsch, blueberry compote and creme de cassis as well as gorgeous crushed violets, a touch of graphite, lightly toasty cedary wood, delicate anise, earthy camphor, peppercorns, fig paste, roasted herbs, bacon and black olives. The structural elements are mature and elegant, highlighting the reserved nature of the vintage, it almost caresses the palate with the grace of a Grand Cru Burgundy, though with all the complexity and impact you’d expect from such an iconic wine. In modern versions of La Chapelle, the grapes (mostly from the Meal cru in 2012) are all de-stemmed, fermented with native yeasts and macerated with punchdowns and pumpovers with the wine allowed to stay on the skins for close to two weeks post dryness. The wine now is aged 12 months, mostly in used French barrels with just about 15% to 20% new and with a portion that is aged solely in concrete eggs, which is to allow for exceptional transparency and structural detail here. The latest releases are now known as Domaine de La Chapelle Hermitage, paying tribute to its history, which dates back to the 13th century, and its future with the Frey family certifying all of these vines organic in 2016 and elevating this wine to new heights. The winery notes that in 1224, a knight named Henri-Gaspard de Sterimberg returned from the Crusades and sought solace on the hill now known as Hermitage, where he built the Saint Christophe chapel and began cultivating vines. He was deemed a hermit and was the inspiration behind the name of the Hermitage appellation. The 65-acre La Chapelle vineyard, named for the Saint Christophe chapel, captures some of the best terroir of the world and has been the inspiration of Syrah producers around the world. A big thank you to Monterey winemaker, Russell Joyce, who brought this beauty to a recent blind tasting of Rhône inspired wines, making for a glorious “AH HA” experience!
The Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine, as mentioned in my prior reviews, now owned by the Frey family, led by the talented Caroline Frey, has been an iconic estate in the Northern Rhone and one of the big three in the region along with Guigal and Chapoutier, most known for their fabled La Chapelle vineyard in Hermitage, Syrah’s most holy site! There’s been wines made here since pre-Roman times, but it was Antoine Jaboulet’s plantings in 1834 and focus on quality which really started to establish the area as one of the major wine producing appellations of the world, after he past the land was passed on to his two sons Henri and Paul, who’s name became company label. The Frey family, who bought the fade glory Jaboulet in 2006, have become big time players in premium French wine production having serious quality properties in Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux, which includes Chateau La Lagune in Haut-Medoc and Château de Corton André in the Cote de Beaune. Caroline Frey, who studied in Bordeaux is one of France’s stars and has her hand in many projects, with even a biodynamic high elevation vineyard in Switzerland, of which I am excited to try the wines from. The Jaboulet lineup is full of quality efforts, but without question Frey’s La Chapelle, which is now its own separate label (winery) and singular wine, is the top priority and it continues to be one of the most coveted wines in the world. As the winery states, the Hermitage appellation, in the Northern Rhône, is a single 650 ft hill above the Rhône River. It is part of the ancient Massif Central and Hermitage hill has a diversity of soil types from four geological eras that have merged here with granite from the primary era, fragments of limestone from the secondary era, hills from the tertiary era, and glaciations from the ice ages. These 45 to 100 year old vines are grown on steep slopes and see the cooling influences of the La Mistral wind, which help give this area its long hang time, depth of flavors and richness, with ripe fruit and seductive savory notes This all has allowed this place to become the varied and complex terroir that has made Hermitage so legendary, as seen in the wines like this one, which, no matter how hard we try, cannot be replicated. I have said many times, I love the Syrahs of Caroline Frey, especially the Crozes-Hermintage Rouge “Domaine de Thalabert”, which is much more in my budget, but this one does standout and its a wine that should be on any Syrah enthusiast’s bucket list.
($149-300 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive