The name “La Chapelle” comes from the small chapel (Saint-Christophe) built on top of the Hermitage’s beautiful terraces. La Chapelle is made from Syrah grapes from some of Hermitage’s very best plots in top vineyards such as Les Bressards, Les Greffieux, Le Méal and Les Roucoules, where the vines are between 40 and 100 years old (Paul Jaboulet Aîné owns a total of 21 ha in Hermitage) . Better provenance is simply not found in the Hermitage. Each parcel is vinified separately, and the mixing ratios of the various wines vary according to the vintage. It is precisely the combination of the different characteristics of the individual wines that creates La Chapelle’s unique harmony.
Although the spring of 2020 was one of the warmest on record in France, a few rain showers brought water and coolness to the vineyards. The flowering took place early, but otherwise perfect. Due to an extreme heat period without rain from the beginning of July, drought stress was feared in the grapes, but since an early color change was experienced on the bunches – where the grapes then require not much water – disaster was avoided. The harvest already began at the end of August, and since the weather was perfect, you could wait to harvest the grapes on the different parcels until they were optimally ripe. The result was perfect, healthy, aromatic and flavorful grapes, which promised a great vintage.
As always on the plots for La Chapelle, the yield was extremely low at 10-18 hl./ha. The grapes are hand-picked and transported to the cellar in small boxes of 20 kg. to avoid oxidation. After de-stemming and a gentle mashing, it is fermented in temperature-regulated stainless steel tanks. After pressing, the wine undergoes a malolactic fermentation and then matures for 15-18 months with 18% in ovoid cement tanks and the rest in wooden barrels, of which the 15% were new for 2020.
The wine has a very nice, glossy, ruby red colour. Compared to the 2019 vintage, which was very tannic and dark in style, the 2020 is more discreet, aromatic and charming. The fragrance offers delicate tones of roses, plums and wild blueberries. The taste is nicely composed, with a velvety structure, delicate spicy notes and a very fruity, full and flattering finish. When a Syrah wine in this class is also delicate and charming, its fame is well understood.
Serve it for e.g. venison, game birds, beef tournedos, veal brats.
Paul Jaboulet Aîné was founded in 1834 when Antoine Jaboulet moved to Tain l’Hermitage in the northern Rhône and bought the family’s first vineyards in Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage. His goal was to produce top wines, and since he was both passionate and uncompromising, his wines were quickly noticed. After him followed 6 generations of the Jaboulet family, who over the years bought up pearls of vineyards mainly in the northern Rhône – for example in appellations such as Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, St. Joseph, Cornas and St. Péray.
After the sudden death of Gérard Jaboulet at the age of 55 in 1997, the renowned family company went through a difficult time, as there were no children to ensure another generational change. His wife and other family members therefore had to step in to run the business, but they had difficulty in several ways in getting it to run. In 2006, they therefore sold the company to the Swiss Frey family, who also own Château la Lagune, 3. Cru Classé (Bordeaux) and Château Corton C (formerly Ch. de Corton-André) in Aloxe-Corton (Burgundy) in addition to having possessions in Champagne and in Valais (Switzerland).
Just a few years after the takeover, the Frey family had brought Paul Jaboulet Aîné back into the absolute elite of the Rhône. The eldest daughter in the family, Caroline, has overseen the reconstruction and remains at the head of the company. She is a trained oenologist in Bordeaux and is known to be a perfectionist down to her fingertips. All the company’s fields have thus been thoroughly renovated, and new prime parcels in Côte Rôtie, Condrieu and Châteauneuf-du-Pape have been purchased and added to the already impressive portfolio of land holdings, which now totals 120 ha. (in the Rhône). The grapes from all these fields are supplemented to a limited extent with grapes that are purchased on a negociant basis from winegrowers with whom we have fixed agreements. As part of the continued development of the company, in 2013 Caroline Frey initiated a major planned transition to organic cultivation of all the company’s own fields. Starting with vintage 2016 (minimum) all domaine wines from Paul Jaboulet Aîné are therefore certified organic.
