Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle Vertical - 2007, '05, '04, 1997, '91, '88, '85, '82, 1976

Very educational tasting hosted by Christope Brunet of PJA, Lisa Perotti-Brown MW and Dr NK Yong. I have never been blown-away by La Chapelle, and came out of this tasting still rather unmoved. I think the wines are generally good, some of them indeed excellent, but nothing really got my pulse racing. It will be interesting to see what the Frey regime does for this wine. Do not get me wrong, I really like the style, I liked the wines, some I loved, and I would happily drink them over and over again. But are they worth the price-tag or, perhaps even more importantly, the reputation? On this showing - perhaps not.

Maybe my mind will be changed when someone or another decides to pop a 1961. Until then, I am happy to drink up the remaining bottles of La Chapelle in my cellar without replenishing them.

• 2007 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Quite a few people in the room were really taken by this wine. I thought it was very good, but was not quite blown away by it. Call me biased, but at the moment, it was just a bit too candy-sweet for me. Nose opened at the get-go with sweet blueberries and stalky cherries, with an almost sticky, medicinal feel to it. Thankfully, it toned down a little, to take on a more candied tone. Still sweet though! With time, it became rather attractive, with some licorice, a touch of flowery perfume, some herbs, hints of spice all coming out of the glass, along with licorice, a touch of scented wood notes and just that undercurrant of meat. I liked the palate somewhat more. There was some heavy weight here, but nicely balanced by a backbone of clean acid. Dark fruit bass notes and sweet red fruit top notes were wed to some savoury red meat flavours, spice and plenty of nice minerality, but it was the almost new worldlish sweetness of fruit that dominated. Finish was long, with hints of vanilla and spice bringing up the rear with just a twist of bittersweet bramble. Clearly young, not quite integrated yet, with sweetness and alcohol sticking out at bits, but this was quite impressive. It should improve with age, but I think this will need a good decade or more before hitting its stride. At the moment, a very good but not all that fantastic a wine for me.

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• 2005 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Another rather good wine that showed well without quite hitting the heights. I liked the nose. More restrained than the 2007, but pleasant, with tight little notes of red cherries, along with some ferrous mineral, spice and little hints of oaky vanillin. There was a slight whiff of alcohol at first, but that blew away rather fast. Palate was still really, really young. Tons of bright acidity marked the attack, lovely freshness I thought - it just about threatened to move into tart territory at times, but there was plenty of pure cherry fruit, along with some kumquat and some orange peel flavours to pull the wine back into focus. All this was wrapped in a layer of rather tough, mouth-puckering tannins, clearly showing that this has a long way to go yet. Finish was somewhere between medium to long, with more mouthfilling freshness, a touch of herbs and another layer of dry, mouthcoating tannins at the close. I think this will show well in the years down the road. For the moment, a long sleep in the cellar is recommended.

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• 2004 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  For an unheralded vintage, this certainly held its own against the 2007 and 2005 on the same flight. Nose was tight, but I liked what we could get out of the glass. Ferrous mineral, some bloody red meat, savoury undercurrants, a touch of boiled herbs, very reserved dark fruits and some smoky bacon. Tight on the palate too, but it slowly opened up to show a nice textured structure with fine, teeth-staining tannins and nice freshness forming a backdrop for black fruit flavours, bacon notes, some spice and a layer of prickly mineral. Finish had some surprising length as well, with fresh acid and drying tannins making their way felt amongst more spicy notes. Just about coming together this wine - I would give it about 4-5 years more and start tucking in with relish.

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• 1997 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  I enjoyed this quite a bit. The lovely, open nose was a relieve after the really tight 2005 and 2004 in the last flight. This was really developed, singing away with savoury umami-laden scents of sweet soy sauce, dried oysters and conpoy, along with a nice meatiness and plush red fruits, with plums and berries swirling around. The palate showed surprisingly youthfully after that nose though. Still tight, with firm tannins and lovely freshness, but again, much, much more opened than its younger siblings in the previous flight. This showed clean, elegant dark fruits, slightly stewed at points, along with savoury meat, more conpoy notes and a nice underlying minerality. The mid-length finish was open and bright, with very nicely integrated flavours of licorice and dried fruits mingling with five spice and anise notes at the very end. A very good wine indeed. Not exactly spectacular, but certainly very yummy - I liked this. Drinking well now, but there is quite a bit to go before it hits peak too, this could last for a long time yet.

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• 1991 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  This was voted the favourite by more than half the room. I thought both the 1997 and the 1988 were drinking just that bit better. Still though, a really nice wine. Nose had a little musty old cupboard smell that made me think TCA at first, but that blew off in time to show a lovely nose where dark fruit and dried plum scents played a counterpoint to savoury meatiness, spice, some gentle loaminess and a touch of coffee grounds. The palate was drinking quite beautifully. Clean, fresh and bright, it was stunningly young, yet showing a layered depth of blue fruits, more coffee grounds, some bramble and plenty of fresh berries sprinkled around. Finish was fresh, open and lively, showing great balance and verve. The flavours were just a little truncated though, only opening up towards the end of the tasting. I think this should have been decanted given the smallish pours that we had -- I suspect it might have showed better than. Otherwise, a really nice wine. I think it would have been great with some form of food.

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• 1988 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  My favourite wine of the evening. This was an absolutely seamless beauty. Very traditional on the nose, it showed musky, meaty notes, some roasted red meat, black olives, loamy earth and just a little underlayer of dark fruit. A bit reductive at first, with whiffs of slightly-turned eggs, but that blew off quite quickly. I thought where this wine really shone was on the palate. Integrated, seamless, it was just a lovely melange of ripe plush fruit - blue and blackberries - and deep earthy, meaty notes, all interwoven with nice acidity and velvety tannins. It was all so nicely packed that the wine just washed across the mid-palate in a lovely show of freshness and life. Finish was every bit as well put together, and quite nicely long as well, transitioning seamlessly into a silkily elegant glide of ripe dark fruits. May not have the complexity of a truly great wine, but a joy to drink nevertheless. I think this is at peak and will probably hold there for some time.

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• 1985 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Good, but a clear step down after the trio of 1997, 1991 and 1988 on the last flight. This too was a bit reductive on the nose, with whiffs of smelly egg that took a bit of time to blow away. After that, it showed wet, earthy sous bois notes, some bacon meat, plenty of mineral, some stalky bramble and plenty of smoky notes. Palate was pleasant enough - nice red fruit expression, with cherries mingling with darker blackcurrant notes, some Rooibos tea, and a bit of stalky herbal touches on the mid-palate, all still wrapped in fine but rather firm tannins. Finish was just a bit short on energy I thought, closing down slightly before lingering in the mouth with smoked bacon notes, some orange peel, another touch of tea (more Oolong this time!) and lots more smoky cigar notes. A nice wine. Not exactly mindblowing, but certainly enjoyable.

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• 1982 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  This was very nice. Absolutely lovely nose, probably my favourite of the night, with sous bois, red meat, bacon and lots of umami tones wed to nice dark fruit scents. Very nice indeed. Palate was overlaid with a drying layer of tannins, but was otherwise open and giving, with lively fresh acidity running through nice flavours of crystallined red fruit, some smoky cigar notes and a bit of spice at the edges. Finish was rather powerful and long too, and quite, quite delicious, with more peppery spice sprinkled amongst flavours of dried plums and orange peel. The palate was not quite as complex as the nose alluded to I thought, but there was a lot to enjoy with this wine. Drinking very nicely now, but it should keep pretty well for a quite a few more years I think.

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• 1976 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Still pleasurable, but not much more in the tank with this wine. Nose was a bit tightly wound, with bits of cigar smoke and meat riding along a waft of toasty spice and just that little bit of minty eucalyptus coming out. I thought it showed rather better on the palate. Very clean fresh acidity was still surprisingly present, along with a burst of ripe red fruit, almost crunchy in its aspect, fading quickly into an underlayer of dried plum and dried meat. Finish was decent too, a little touch of bitterswet bramble, some smoke, but rather nicely fresh. A little simpler than the previous wines, but still nice. There was plenty of freshness still, but I am not sure the fruit will last much longer - time to drink up!

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