TN: Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle Dinner (1978, '82, '83, '85, '88, '90, '95, '97, '98, '99, 09)

JABOULET HERMITAGE LA CHAPELLE DINNER (1978, '82, '83, '85, '88, '90, '95, '97, '98, '99, 09) - Taberna, Bukit Merah (13/8/2018)

The “Next Dinner Group” broke from our usual Burgundy themes this time round, and shifted focus to the Northern Rhone, specifically to Jaboulet’s La Chapelle, this time round instead.

YH hosted us with some delicious food and, as always, superbly curated the wines.

Having had quite a few bottles of La Chapelle in the past, and having done a fairly wide-ranging vertical of La Chapelle some years back, I kind of knew what to expect. This tasting though, in a more relaxed settting where we had time to savour the wines and taste them paired with food, really highlighted just how good La Chapelle can be.

There is something very unique about the way the wines present themselves with age, even amdist other Northern Rhone greats. There are shades of Claret-like flavours - cigar, cassis, even capsicum - and then a more than passing nod to Burgundy in the elegance of structure and effortless poise on the best vintages, but all this always still wed to the sweetness and strength of Syrah and the Rhone. At their best, they are supremely enjoyable wines. Impressive, yet in a very elegant, understated way. Wines meant to be savoured over a long evening, or paired with the choicest morsels.

True to reputation, the wines from the mid-to-late 1990s showed a clear dip in quality, coming across a bit thinner, more astringent, less complex - missing the effortless strength of the older vintages. There has certainly been a revival in recent times though, and the one young vintage (2009) that we had showed great potential indeed. One can only hope that the good work will continue, for this is a terroir capable of producing some of the best wines in the world.


BUBBLES TO START

• 1998 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne
  From a magnum, this was a nice start to the night. It had a nice creamy nose, with notes of brioche and butter lined with touches of white fruit and a lift of steely minerality. A very classic BdB nose. The palate was nicely shaped, with a fresh and still lively mousse and bright acidity shaping its white fruited flavours fringed with citrussy lemon notes. A nice polished wine, this was a marriage of power with some balance and focus, this was enjoyable and still has some time to go as well. Good. (92 pts.)

1990s

• 1999 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Not bad, but not that great either. This had an attractive nose, with a dash of sour plum powder, a waft of blueberries, and bits of earth, spice and meat, all ringed with pretty violet florals. Lovely stuff, if perhaps brighter and less complex on the lower register than either the 1997 and 1998 on the same flight. The palate was significantly tighter and less giving than the nose though, with a bite of citrussy acidity and firm but fine tannins wrapped around slightly lighter-bodied blueberry and sweet black cherry fruit, this leading into a slightly astringent finish. This lacked a bit of depth. All in all decent enough, but I thought this lacked some depth and conviction. (90 pts.)
• 1998 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  A step up from the bottle I had 4 years back - this is starting to show decently well. It started with a deeper nose than on the 1999 on the same flight, and was perhaps better for that. This showed a lovely breath of earth and meat and savoury sour plums layered beneath sweeter notes of plums and blueberries - a lovely bouquet seasoned with a bit of fragrant spice. The palate was stronger than the 1999 as well (if not quite on par with the 1997), with a of spice and a chew of fine, brambly tannins framing juicy notes of blueberry and black cherries. The finish haf a twist of bittersweet herb and just that tiny hint of astringency picked up on the 1999, but this was certainly a stronger showing. An elegant wine, charming, but still a bit tight and also lacking a touch of depth. This would be interesting to try in another 4-5 years down the road. (91 pts.)
• 1997 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Nice stuff - even though I was not as impressed with this as with some of the best bottles of blind 1997s I have had over the years, it was still really pleasing. Clearly the best wine in a flight with the 1995, 1998 and 1999. The 1997 had another really attractive nose, maybe the prettiest of the flight. Here, the violets came out first, and then blueberries, followed by a nice twist of spice, before a trail of meatier notes came along. Really nice nose. It was clearly the strongest of the flight on the palate on the palate too, with a nice of warm fruit - ripe blueberries, plums, black cherries - gliding away on a bed of fresh acidity and fine tannins into a spicy, slightly bittersweet herb and mineral finish. It really came alive with food, with fruit and flowers coming out all over the midpalate and beyond. Quite a charmer, with the structure to age longer too. (92 pts.)
• 1995 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Decent, but clearly the tightest wine of the flight (alongside the 1997, 1998 and 1999), the nose here was last floral and fruited than the other bottles, with a slightly greener leaning and notes of bramble mingling amidst its blueberry aromas and some earthy shades. Not bad, but just not that pretty. The palate was also rather tight, with a touch of green tannins and tingly acidity running through tight little flavours of blueberry and herb, and then a bit of spice pulling away into the finish. There was a bit more power and length on the backpalate though, showing some peppery length and blueberry depth. Less expressive than its peers, but nevertheless quite a well-structured, well-built wine. I preferred this just a tad more than the 1999 - I think it has more chops to age nicely over the next decade or so as well. (91 pts.)

1980s

• 1982 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  I loved this - I thought this bottle was showing even better than one I had ex-Domaine about 8 years ago. It had a beautiful nose. Lush and generous, with deep notes of loamy earth, a bit of honey, bits of meat, then drifts of green pepper, deep draws of blueberries, and a beautiful lift of violets. Very pretty. The palate was lovely too. Soft, velvety, with perfectly integrated acidity draped around a lovely, pure mouthful of clear cherry and darker cassis flavours, all this subtly infused with a lovely warm spiciness as the wine glided into a soft, elegant finish. There was a nice floral kiss at the end, with an almost honeyed sweetness, some lifted garrigue notes, and then a twist of exotic spice. Wow. A real charmer of a wine - dense and delicious, yet delicate and gentle, full of layered complexity too. This may have lacked the effortless grace of the 1978, but it was perhaps more immediately warm and moreishly charming. Lovely to drink right now. (94 pts.)
• 1983 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  I have enjoyed the 1983 before, but this bottle seemed a bit off. It smelt a bit dirty, a bit funky. Not quite flawed, but lacking the aromatically attractive nature of the other La Chapelles on show, with more undergrowth, meat and plenty of green flecks alongside its dark fruited notes. It had a good, strong palate though. Still youthful, with an obvious touch of tannins and bright acidity, and then a lift of vibrant blue fruit backed by earth and meat. This in fact came across tasting a bit more like the younger wine in the first flight than the rest of its 1980s flight mates, with a bit of astringency on the finish. I thought it may have been a little scalped by the bottle condition, but its hard to tell. All in all, drinkable rather than good. (89 pts.)
• 1985 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Really lovely - this was classic La Chapelle. We were back to a pretty nose here (after a dirty smelling 1983), with lifted notes of plum and cassis fruit, and an almost Bordeaux-like capsicum and tobacco leafiness, alongside a nice spiciness. A nice nose, but I might have guessed Bordeaux if completely blind. Only the violets at the edges of the bouquet really drew me back to the Northern Rhone. The palate was really fine in a very understated way. Clean, pure, just lovely, with an effortless power to its carriage. Here, limpid flavours of blueberries and cherries played against a noble structure of the finest tannins and lovely, smooth acidity, all this moving into a full midpalate and finish kissed by lovely drifts of violets and bits of spice. A lovely drop, even though it clearly still has quite a long way to run yet. Warm and full, yet with a fresh acidity in reserve. I would love to try it in 5-10 years time. (94 pts.)
• 1988 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Pretty good, with a major “but”. I have had this numerous times blind over the years, and it has impressed without fail. This particular bottle was behind the curve though - I found it less enjoyable than either the 1982 or the 1985 in the same flight, and certainly less impressive than the bottles I have had in the past. It had the meatiest nose of the lot, showing whiffs of bacon and roasted meat along with deep blueberry aromas and pockets of spice and violets. It was a powerful, quite arresting bouquet. The palate was really yummy as well, with firm but refined tannins and bright acidity, fine flavours of blueberries and spice, a bit of minerality, all this wed to a subtle earth and meat savouriness moving into a decent finish. Unfortunately, it was not quite as complete as previous examples I had, nor indeed when compared with either the 1982 or the 1985 - this came across a bit thinner and less giving. Pretty enjoyable in its on way, but not firing on all cylinders. (92 pts.)

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE GREATS

• 1978 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Wow. The most enjoyable, and most impressive wine of the night by far. This started out with a nose of lifted spice aromas, greener tobacco leaf and capsicum notes, drifts of violets, and then cassis and blueberry fruits at the core of the bouquet. A pretty nose to kick off the last flight of La Chapelle. The palate had a subtle elegance to it, with fine velvety tannins and melting acidity framing soft flavours of dark cherries and cassis that were gently infused with charming notes of flowers and spice on the midpalate and beyond. Charming and delicious, this just danced across the mouth with a delicate elegance, all the way into a pretty finish of lavender, violets and spicy garrigue. There was density on its sweetly fruited flavours, and a superb, almost jammy length on the finish, and yet there was such a lithe lightness to the wine that one barely felt its weight and presistence. Finesse, refinement and power in one package - a lovely wine drinking perfectly now. This knocked my socks off, but in a wonderfully quiet, understated way. (96 pts.)
• 2009 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  A completely different animal from all the aged La Chapelle that we had on the night, but this was very good indeed and shows great promise - a return to form after the doldrums of the mid-1990s apprarently. The colour was strikingly different from the other wines - a deep, opaque violet. The nose, uniquely amongst the wines, showed quite a bit of oak on it, with vanillin tones mingling with sweet dark blueberry, plums and violet flowers, with just a twist of earthy notes at the edges. Still very primary on the palate too, with sweet blue fruit and darker black cherries punctuated with lovely fresh acidity. This had a limpid, transparent purity that I loved. The finish was still a bit indistinct, but had a nice length and definition to it. Way too young of course, but the wine shows great potential - it should be lovely in a decade or two. (94 pts.)
• 1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  Still on the youthful side, but this was superb - clearly the most complete wine on show. While not quite as immediately enjoyable as the mature 1978 on the night, I suspect this may one day grow to be the greater wine. It had such a strong nose, with flecks of meat, earth and spice floating around a deep core of black cherry and blueberry fruit, and then a twist of herb at the edges. Just lovely. The palate was so very complete. Full and lushly fruited, with pure, sappy flavours of blueberry and sour plums and a lovely flush of fragrant spice - think pepper and cloves. On the mid-palate, a bit of earth, meat, a twist of bittersweet herb and just that of warm spice pushed the wine into a long, strong finish that just lingered and lingered in the mouth. This needs time though - dense and powerful, it was still gripped by a noble structure of fine tannins and good acidity. Judging by the 1978 and 1982 that preceded it, this will probably need another 10-15 years before it hits peak. I bet it will be world-beating when it gets there. 95+ (95 pts.)

WHITES WITH CHEESE TO END

• 2012 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage Blanc Chevalier de Sterimberg - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
  I thought this was a really, really nice wine. It had such an attractive nose - chalk and mineral, beeswax and white flowers, and then sweet melons drifting alongside - so charming. The palate was surprisingly fresh and lively, with notes lemony acidity and citrus fruit peel dancing amongst white flowers, honey and beeswax, and a core of white peach and other stone fruited flavours topped up with a gentle sprinkling of spice at the mid-lengthed finish. Impeccably balanced, absolutely delicious, and great with aged Comte. Marsanne (70%) and Roussanne (30%) (93 pts.)
• 2014 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise Le Chant des Griolles - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise
  Simple, but pleasant enough - a decent way to end a heavy meal with lots of serious wines. This had such a lovely nose - chamomile, honey, potpourri - it just spilled out of the glass in wonderfully perfumed wafts. The palate was not quite as charming as the nose unfortunately. It just felt heavier and less entrancing than the bouquet promsied, with a layer of sweet stone fruit and honey topped with some chamomile flowers, and a finish of spice. Decent enough, but a touch clunky and needing a smidgen more acidity. (89 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Really great notes Paul.
We’ve done this a few times over the past decade as well, with results very consistent with your own. I’m a huge fan of both the '82 & '85 (agree the '82 just being a bit better right now) and have had both stellar and slightly better than mediocre '83’s.
You could still find nice fill bottles of '82 & '85 at decent prices just a few years ago, but they’ve become harder to find and quite pricey now. Shame as they are two of my very favourite wines to drink right now. That '78 is a stunner.

My last vintage purchased was '03, then I just did my best to back-fill the 80’s vintages where possible.
Nice to hear the '09 shows so much class, although with new release prices being almost as much as older bottles, perhaps not the ideal play. I’m not 50 yet, but would worry it won’t hit its stride until I’m an old man. Good Hermitage needs so long.
Thanks for posting this. This is encouraging me to pull an '82 or '85 for over the holidays.

In the '80s, there were different batches released at different times. Since that predated the EU’s rules requiring lot numbers, it’s impossible to know which lot you have unless you know when it was purchased. The initial tranche of '83, for instance, sold out (I think Parker had scored it high), but more appeared on the market a year or so later.

The really good 83s are probably the fakes where those guys re-labeled 82s as 83s.

John, you’re right. Aware they did that for ages, as needed by certain markets & distributors. All of my bottles from the 80’s were purchased second hand, so no way to know. That’s fine.

Excellent notes and data points thanks. I opened my first '98 with some trepidation, just last week actually. Glad I had held off - it’s developing nicely now, though of course clearly below par for a “great vintage”.

Thanks for the interesting responses. Some of the wines were really very nice - but a bit of crap shoot in the early 1980s given what you guys are saying about labelling?

Paul – what a terrific dinner! And really great notes. What about the food though? IMHO the greatest wines demand food, especially a big bad boy like hermitage.

I was fortunate to participate in a similar Jaboulet vertical a few years back at Resto in NYC, and the group ate an entire lamb, starting with lamb brain and scrambled eggs. It was absolutely amazing, and, needless to say, lamb and hermitage is one of the ultimate pairings. 1989 and 1990 stuck out as particularly awesome in a very crowded field, though amazingly somewhat on the young side. Subsequent bottles of 1983 and 1985 have been so-so, though provenance might have played a role. Having opened a 1998 just a few weeks ago, I can also vouch for the much-lamented “down years” – which weren’t all that bad, really, except in the context of what we know it is capable of (astringency would be my major gripe).

Your great description of 1978 makes that one an aspiration. And then there is always 1961 (which will have to wait at least until the stock market temper tantrum reverses).

There is a great hermitage quote that I am unable to find. Something about its “manliness”.

You’re missing the 89!

I have actually never tried the '89! Care to ship a bottle over to Singapore to fill that gap?

Well, I only have a lone bottle and would rather deliver it in person!

Yes, the ´83 LCh can be outstanding - or very disapointing depending on the bottling … I was lucky to purchase a case at auction (in about 1990) that seems to be fine, but had other bottles from friend´s cellars that were rather weak …

The corks are usually vintage branded …!

To be clear, it wasn’t just in the 80s – it was up until then.

After that, two things changed. First, the EU mandated lot numbers (around 1990, as I recall). Second, there was a general move across France toward blending for uniformity. Into the 80s, many Rhone and Burgundy producers bottled barrel by barrel. By then, Bordeaux chateaux were mixing barrels in large tanks, but even at classified growth properties there were multiple lots. (There was one year, circa 1988-1990 --Gerhard may recall the year – when a large lot of Pichon Lalande was defective.) Someone posted a while back that, today in Bordeaux, they typically flow wine back and forth between tanks. But, given the quantities, they usually can’t fully blend an entire vintage’s worth of wine.

The story of the 82/83 La Chapelle fraud was related by Don Cornwell in the Rudy K thread (he provided some more detail in subsequent posts). I haven’t had the 83 many times but all the 82s I’ve had have been excellent.

In addition to any fakes, there was inconsistency in the genuine '83s, as Gerhard said. I experienced that with bottles I bought circa 1985 and 1986, long before Rudy.

Those fakes had nothing to do with Rudy. The episode took place in the mid 80’s. My point was that if you got 82s instead of 83s, it was probably not a bad outcome, since the 82s have been very consistently excellent and 83s not so much.

I don’t recall the '82, if I ever had it. But it wasn’t a great year in Hermitage, so that’s surprising. (1984 was actually quite solid there.)

I just bought a case and a bit of 1985 la Chapelle 1985 from the UK. All bottles have been superb, with a minimum amount of the 1985 Brett.

Nice line up Paul.

I have tried the wines from '80s few times- 82, 83, 85 and 89. They were excellent. But that was some time ago . Not tasted any recently. Tasted the 2015 Maison bleu. Quite nice without the expensive price tag of the La Chapelle.

A couple of 82’s 15 or more years ago were very nice.

Still sitting on my lone 90.