I’ve been a big fan of Jaboulet’s Northern Rhone wines since the late 1970s, and it seemed time to do a retrospective on the Hermitage La Chapelle.
I had met Girard Jaboulet on several occasions when he came to Vancouver with another member of the Primum Familiae Vini, an organization of family owned wineries, Etienne Hugel. Together they made an unforgettable pair, with a comedic routine that delighted audiences while imparting fascinating information about their wines and winemaking. In 1997, Gerard died tragically young and there is some feeling that the wind went out of thee family winemaking sails shortly afterward, when they began making less than stellar wines in vintages like 1998 and 1999 when their other competitors were getting much more memorable results. For that reason I included a couple of younger wines to see if this was true and to take a small look at what the new owners, the Frey family, were doing with the properties.
The sale of this two century old wine concern in 2005 surprised me, and ejected them from the PFV as being no longer family owned. One of the new family, Caroline Frey, the winemaker at La Lagune in Bordeaux, is now also the winemaker at Jaboulet.
So I set up a dinner to look at the wines of this properly, and the friends I invited were able to assemble a very nice survey vertical of the wines for us to enjoy together.
With pan seared diver’s scallops on a bed of black rice with roasted tomato vinaigrette:
2004 Chevalier de Sterimberg – had to start with a white Hermitage, this one a blend of something like 65% Marsanne, and 35% Roussanne. It had some colour, and a killer nose of dried orange peel and a waxy floral element, and the wine was clean and long with excellent balance. Best white Hermitage I’ve tasted in a along time.
With duck confit with sour cherry sauce:
2004 – a controversial vintage as Robert Parker stated that this wine was not to be made, presumably acting on advice he received from the winery. He stated that all of the grapes would be used for the new (from 2001) second wine, La Petite Chapelle. In fact the grand vin was made in 2004 (maybe a change of heat on the part of the owners after looking at the balance sheet?) and we got to taste it. It had a decent enough nose with some white pepper and ripe fruit, a bit herbal, but was tannic, lean and green, not a wine I would be happy to have bought to drink a decade down the road.
1999 – another ripe nose, but this time no pepper, sweeter than the 2004, and (thankfully) no green notes, and better fruit on palate, but nonetheless still and unsatisfying wine a bit on the lightweight side and finishing a tad short.
With wild mushrooms on grilled pollenta with chevre chive sauce:
1997 – ahhh – back into the ‘real stuff’! Dark colour, some heat in the nose, maybe a tad on the sweet side in the nose with lots of berry fruit and a little spiciness, on palate sweet and ripe with very good length. Good wine that needs time.
1991 – big jump here because I didn’t think that the good vintages in the mid 90s were ready for prime time yet. This vintage, sometimes a bit overlooked by people more familiar with Bordeaux vintages, was excellent in the Northern Rhone. The wine showed an even darker colour than the 97, and had a nice slightly funky nose with some raw meat and anise, that was showing what you expect with a bit of maturity. Clean, bright and powerful in the mouth, very long finish a slight bit sweet; it was a hard choice between these two wines, the one ready to drink now, the other with a good future.
With hazelnut crusted sweetbreads, crispy pancetta and Port reduction:
1990 – this was without doubt the Latour of the Rhone. The wine was very dark, and sheeted down the sides of the glass. There was meat and pepper as well as an enticing melange of fruit and maybe a hint of cocoa in the nose. Huge in the mouth, a weighty wine, but also impeccably balanced with a truly exceptional length in the finish. Very youthful – if you have this wine, it is on the way up and you shouldn’t be tempted to broach it too soon as patience will certainly be well rewarded. For me to get to taste this wine and a 1983 Palmer all within 3 days makes it a week to truly remember!
1988 – white pepper here, as well as a hint of mint and a very interesting herbal mix. This wine was elegant, fully mature, and very pleasurable now.
With rack of lamb, minted gnocchi and roasted garlic jus:
1983 – a bit of a difference of opinion between Parker and other reviewers on this, with RP feeling that the wine was becoming austere and tannic. This bottle showed a sort of wet stone and coffee nose, very inviting, and was clean in the mouth, neither tannic (though some were present) nor astringent. It was quite enjoyable, though possibly now in slow decline.
1982 – not as good a nose as the 83, a little dirtier and more attenuated, the flavours a bit dilute, this bottle lacked fruit and was drying out. This is contrary to my experience with the wine, but then I haven’t popped a cork on one of these in awhile. I will soon, to double check our experience – it may just have been a poor bottle.
With cheese:
1979 – a warm sweet pudding sort of nose, which I always find quite endearing, elegant on palate, maybe getting a tad tired but still an interesting wine with a slightly high terminal acidity. I’ll make a mental note to pop a cork on one of these too.
1978 Dom. de Thalabert Crozes Hermitage – I had this one served blind to see what people would make of it. Normally, a Crozes is a secondary wine in terms of quality to an Hermitage, but of all the wines made in the region, this is perhaps the best and also the longest lived. Jaboulet also make a negotiant version with fruit sourced from other properties, called Les Jalets, but it is not as serious a wine, nor nearly the ager that Thalabert often is. I’d worried a bit about this wine perhaps being a bit long in the tooth, but it turned out well – a reasonably fresh nose with a little cedar, good colour, supple in the mouth with good length, fairly sweet but with lots of acidity at the end. Obviously, if you happen to own this wine, don’t tarry about drinking it, but you still have a reasonable expectation of a very presentable wine when you do enjoy it.
1996 Chateau Tirecul La Gravière Cuvée Madame Monbazillac - Dark colour, some candied pear and apricot in the nose, but no significant botrytis, which had us wondering a bit (this was also served blind). Nice length and a good way to finish up an event like this!
I feel obliged to append a short note on a couple of wines that a friend, also dining at the restaurant, had enjoyed that night, passing our table a glass of each as he departed.
1983 Ch. La Mission Haut Brion – slightly funky nose with hint of tar, but great concentration and length.
1983 Ch. Pichon Lalande – an excellent uplifted nose of fruit and smoke, a well integrated wine, at peak, with class and elegance, and a supple feel. I preferred this wine. Wish I’d had the opportunity to taste this against the 83 Palmer!