Jaboulet Aine: Hermitage La Chapelle (Domaine Release 2025) 2015

Parker über: Hermitage La Chapelle (Domaine Release 2025)

-- Parker: The 2015 Hermitage La Chapelle is one of the estate’s finest recent efforts. It’s packed with firm tannins and will need to be lost in the cellar for a decade, but it will reward those with patience. Richly concentrated and full-bodied, it hits all the expected notes—cassis, black olive, smoke, crushed stone, pencil shavings and espresso—then finishes long, with an aristocratic sense of reserve and austerity. Winemaker Jacques Devernois compares it to a woman’s black dress, meaning it speaks of elegance and class.Since the Frey family purchased this historic firm in January 2006, the winemaking process and equipment have gone through a series of dramatic changes. Now, I feel the team, winery and various terroirs are finally operating smoothly as a whole, and the recent releases are among the best Paul Jaboulet Aîné wines ever produced. Caroline Frey says that's because the biodynamic practices are finally paying big dividends in the domaine vineyards. No doubt that has played a role, but the winemaking here has also adapted over time, paying less homage to Bordeaux and becoming more Burgundian/Rhônish in style. Consumers can visit the company's caveau and wine bar, conveniently located on the main market square of Tain l'Hermitage, to try the wines for themselves.