Maison Paul Jaboulet Aîné was established in 1834 when Antoine Jaboulet set up his business in Tain l’Hermitage with the aim of producing great wines. He saw his future profession as limited to cultivating the vineyards and maintaining the quality of the land. It was with this mindset that he quickly acquired his first vineyards on the Hermitage slopes and the Crozes Hermitage plains. The six generations who followed him, including sons Paul and Henry and later, the celebrated Gerard, adopted an identical approach.
The jewel in the Jaboulet collection has always been the legendary ‘La Chapelle’ Hermitage, a great red wine made purely from Syrah, which owes its name to the famous little Sainte Christophe chapel which overlooks the Hermitage vineyards. ‘La Chapelle’ which has been solely owned by Paul Jaboulet Aîné since 1919 is made by blending grapes from the best terroirs in the appellation (Meal, les Bessards, les Rocoules, etc.). The 1961 ‘La Chapelle’ was ranked amongst the 12 greatest wines of the 20th century by the Wine Spectator.
The name of Hermitage La Chapelle is linked to the little chapel of Saint-Christophe overlooking the terraced vineyards along the Rhône. Maison Paul Jaboulet Aîné has been the sole owner since 1919.
The diversity of “terroirs” on these lands gives the wine an identity of its own, thanks to the blending of grapes from different plots.
The Syrah vines are planted in rich and varied soils with very diverse terroirs (les Bessards, les Greffieux, le Méal and les Rocoules).
It is the richness of these different terroirs that provides our Hermitage La Chapelle with its complexity.
100 Points Robert Parker Wine Advocate
The 1990 Hermitage La Chapelle lived up to its reputation on this occasion, and of the three titans (1990, 1978 and 1961), it was probably my favorite. Still inky colored and ruby at the rim, it offers an absolutely profound bouquet of sweet cassis, smoked meats, chocolate, licorice and spice. This is followed by a full-bodied, insanely textured, pure and hedonistic palate that has that perfect mix of still-vibrant fruit and ample secondary nuances. I suspect the ’61 was even richer at this stage, but the overall purity and freshness here are incredible. It will continue to evolve for decades, but I’d happily open bottles today.
100 Points Jeb Dunnuck
I’ve been lucky enough to drink probably a case of the 1990 Hermitage La Chapelle, and it’s always either rated pure perfection or just off that magical number. On this occasion, it tasted like a newly released wine and offered incredible purity and freshness in its crème de cassis, crushed rocks, spring flowers, chocolate, and smoke meat aromas and flavors. Deep, brilliantly concentrated, yet also elegant and seamless, it’s just now starting to show hints of secondary aromas and is going to be incredibly long-lived. One of the greatest Hermitages ever made, life is too short not to drink this once in your life!