Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine - Hermitage red La Chapelle 2012

Wine Region: Rhone Valley - France

Grape: 100% Syrah | Organic certification

Tasting notes: "The grand vin is the 2012 Hermitage la Chapelle, and it lives up to the billing in 2012. Coming mostly from the Meal and aged in just 20% new French oak, it’s a blockbuster that exhibits thrilling, mineral-drenched notes of spiced dark fruits, beef blood, black olive and toast. Full-bodied, deep, layered and incredibly concentrated, it has a stacked mid-palate and enough tannin to warrant another 4-5 years of bottle age. It will have 2-3 decades of overall prime drinking, and certainly evolve for longer. The revamped Jaboulet firm, under the leadership of Caroline Frey, seems to have settled in and are now producing one serious lineup of wines from throughout the Rhone Valley." The Wine Advocate

Expert Rating: Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 97+/100

About the winery: Undoubtedly one of the greatest names in the Rhone Valley, Paul Jaboulet Aine was founded in 1834 by Antoine Jaboulet and is perhaps best known for its flagship La Chapelle, of which the 1961 vintage still holds the title as one of the greatest wines ever made. A series of mishaps in the 1990s threw the estate in disarray and it took the financial might of the Frey family to set the estate on a path to recovery.

Since 2006, the Frey family have accomplished an impressive feat at Paul Jaboulet Aine by taking this historic estate to its rightful place as the first growth of the Rhone. With their experience at Chateau La Lagune in Bordeaux, the Frey family saw the potential in Jaboulet’s vineyards, including the important and iconic vineyard, Hermitage La Chapelle.

Caroline Frey has since taken over as owner and winemaker of Paul Jaboulet Aine and within 10 years, enabled Paul Jaboulet Aine to attain organic certification.