And I thought Bordeaux was out of touch this vintage.
Released, initially, at £717/3 bottles which is basically double the price of the recent vintages.
I dont know how Hermitage was in 21, but at least one vintage chart suggested Crozes Hermitage was significantly below some of the recent vintages
Considering all recent hermitage la chapelle is available at, or below, release price except 2015, and with many good vintages in there, I think this takes a new biscuit for how out of touch someone is with the wider market.
Also, they’ve rebranded, which I suspect was just an excuse to do this. The re-branding is inferior, though, imho. It’s now ‘Domaine de la Chapelle’, so dropping the Jaboulet association. Which makes no sense considering 61 and 90 are obviously knowing as Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle
Just tasted Chave Hermitage 2021 (red) in the cellars from tank (and 2022 from casks).
A good agreeable - rather early accessable - vintage with very nice fruit … certainly no great vintage, but a lovely wine …
I don t see any Jaboulet might be much better … except more oak treatment. At these price: NO
On paper, Hermitage has all the elements for a high priced wine. There is very little acreage, so the wines are rare, the quality is high, and demand is beginning to increase.
The surprise for me in these days of overpriced high end wines, is not that the 2021s are expensive, but why it hasn’t happened before. It looks as if the estates are just beginning to understand the Veblen benefits of a top brand with scarce supply.
My reference point for La Chapelle, Rayas and Chave, has always been '90. Never tasted a vintage I preferred more (although '89 is close for Rayas). I brought a bottle of '90 La Chapelle to dinner the other night that I split with a buddy of mine and it was outstanding as most of the bottles have been. I love '90 Rayas and Chave too, but from a value perspective, the La Chapelle is the clear winner. I would not spend £717/3 on '21 La Chapelle, but I would use that money to buy a bottle of '90 and a nice dinner. Unfortunately the food that night at Cafe Chelsea was not nearly as good as the wine.
I have not had much luck with ‘90 La Chapelle in this country, and wonder whether there was some transport snafu bringing them over. I am prepared to pay more and buy from an English source, and so far totally agree with you Jon, they have all been magnificent. Ditto Chave; big difference between Yapp the UK importer and Kermit Lynch bottles.
Mark - This was part of a 6-pack I bought at auction a few years ago in the US. According to the import label, it was imported from the UK, but it does not indicate when. I started drinking this wine in the early '00’s at Harry’s and he had bought most of his stuff on release. Those bottles all drank great as did the '90 Chave and Rayas he had on the list back then. IIRC, Harry bought most of his wines from Chadderdon. A bottle last year from a friend’s cellar that was also bought on release and kept stored at 50 degrees ever since was a total monolith and completely shut-down.
Got to try my next-to-last bottle of '90 La Chapelle last weekend and it was completely wonderful – great fruit, great aromas, great balance, and still a long way to go. Maybe even better in 20 years but I will not be around to testify.
Then a couple of days ago a friend, with whom we had shared the '90, produced a bottle of '83 La Chapelle. It was wonderful in a different way, completely evolved but still excellent and will probably stay at that plateau of excellence for years, but not improve.
Good bottles of 1990 La Chapelle can be great, but the vintage that has consistently given me the most pleasure is 1982. The 1990 Thalabert Crozes is generally excellent, fwiw.
