On Nov 17, 10:33*am, "Bill S." > wrote:
> 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.
>
> 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!

Thanks for the notes. La Chapelle has long been a favorite of mine in
good years and in bad.