WTN: Worship in a small church

[Jenise]

2010 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Petite Chapelle Syrah
A CT post on this wine last weekend concerned me, I own six but had never opened one. So last night on the spur of the moment we popped a cork to pair with pan-seared steaks; didn't decant. Almost black in the glass and immediately gratifying with a heady nose of restrained black fruit, oil-cured black olives, herbs, coffee and even more of those olives. More savory than sweet and in an ideal place for current drinking. Loved it.

Bill Spohn, you and I split a case of this. Have you opened one yet?

[David M. Bueker]

Sounds lovely!

I have had Jaboulet's La Chapelle Hermitage bottling before, but not La Petite Chapelle. Is La Petite a second label-type bottling?

-Paul W.

Like Paul I've had lots of La Chapelle, but never recall hearing of this bottling (though CT shows plenty of it)

[David M. Bueker]

I have not had this bottling since the 1990s. It's been around a long time.

I think maybe off by a couple years,
Actually I just found link saying its a second wine starting in 2001
https://www.laywheeler.com/product-detail?id=08013421
There are older vintages listed in CT, but only a very few bottles, then suddenly lots after turn of century. I think the older ones are data entry mistakes- if you look through pictures, no Petite Chapelles where you can see a vintage tag older than 2001.

[Jenise]

Here's the backstory from the Garagiste pitch I purchased from:

Circa 2001-2003, Jaboulet made the decision to cull a percentage from Hermitage La Chapelle to reinforce the rarity and quality of La Chapelle itself. The result of that culling was La Petit Chapelle and it continued to get better and better over the years as Jaboulet culled more and more from La Chapelle (this is not your average “second wine” – it’s made from the same pool of parcels and stock as La Chapelle – think of it in the same vein as Chapelle d’Ausone - i.e. hardly any of us would turn down the chance to taste it).

Now comes the fun part...

Somewhere along the way, Jaboulet turned La Petit Chapelle into “La Maison Bleue” but it was the exact same wine. Their US conduit, spurred by new vintage stock with the “La Maison Bleue” name, made the decision that any past stock of La Petit Chapelle to enter the US market should be labeled with the “new” name of La Maison Bleue.

Are you still with me?

Confusion ensued (just like your confusion reading this), stock was traded though and bygones were left to be bygones...

That is, except for a small parcel of 2010 La Petit Chapelle that was never picked up but already re-labeled as “La Maison Bleue”.

That’s where you come in.

This original parcel (with MINT provenance) is set to arrive shortly and the $ is a bit of a double-take. You can see the SRP’s in the notes below and the wine is exactly the same...

Josh Raynolds (Vinous): “$145; Opaque ruby. Heady aromas of black and blue fruits, Indian spices and candied flowers. Stains the palate with intense cassis and blueberry flavors, picking suave floral and spice nuances with air. Shows excellent clarity and energy on the finish, which features smoothly integrated tannins and a seductive floral quality. 93pts”

Parker: “($145); The 2010 Hermitage La Petite Chapelle is a better wine than nearly every Hermitage La Chapelle made under the final years of the Jaboulet family’s ownership (for example, 1993-2005). The 2010 was aged in barrel and represents one-third of the Hermitage crop (another one-third was eliminated and the final one-third went into La Chapelle). Its deep purple color is followed by notes of camphor, tar, pepper, beef blood, black currant jam and hints of new saddle leather as well as earth. This supple, rich, full, authoritative beauty should drink well for 15-20 years. 2012 – 2032. 92pts”

If you have a cellar and don’t mind giving today’s subject another 3-5 years of slumber, you may be sitting on a little blue gold mine...


Bill and I paid $50/per. Our bottles are actually labeled Maison Bleue. CT, however, consolidates all inventory as LPC.

Thanks for the backstory, Jenise. But this part of what the Garagiste said doesn't make sense to me:

(this is not your average “second wine” – it’s made from the same pool of parcels and stock as La Chapelle – think of it in the same vein as Chapelle d’Ausone - i.e. hardly any of us would turn down the chance to taste it).

Eh?? Traditionally in Bordeaux the grapes are harvested from the chateau's vineyards, with each parcel and variety vinified separately and then blended to produce the final wine. Second wines (e.g., Carruades de Lafite) were produced from barrels not deemed good enough to go into the primary wine. This is exactly what Jaboulet has done.

-Paul W.

2010 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Petite Chapelle Syrah

Bill Spohn, you and I split a case of this. Have you opened one yet?

I have not, so thanks for the update on the wine. What is your cellar temp? I keep mine at 13 C./ 55 F. plus I often delay tasting wines longer than many people as I prefer maturity (in wines, if not in drinking buddies),

[Jenise]

Bill, we keep our cellar at 57-60. And yes, I know you like your wines very mature. I do too, and I'm patient (note this is the first bottle we've opened), but I don't have the backlog you do and I'd rather drink a wine too early than too late, so it made sense for me to check in on one of these now. I was surprised at how agreeable it was straight out of the bottle without decanting.