2020 Paul Jaboulet 'La Chapelle' Hermitage
This brilliant hermitage knocks it out of the park. Massive and opulent with smoked black fruit and graphite over a subtle meatiness, this bottle goes all out, scorched earth to reclaim the championship title for Jaboulet. Hide this sexy beast in the cellar for a few years – it should coast for 4 decades if you let it. Only about 2,000 cases exist, and every Syrah lover out there is angling for it, so lock yours down today. |
Vinous
Glass-staining purple. Assertively perfumed cassis, cherry liqueur, fruitcake and floral aromas take on espresso, olive and smoky bacon accents with aeration. Juicy, chewy and energetic on the palate, offering densely packed, alluringly sweet black and blue fruit preserve, floral pastille, licorice and mocha flavors that become deeper and spicier as the wine slowly stretches out. The floral and mineral notes repeat emphatically on a wonderfully long, juicy and mineral-dominated finish that's framed by building, well-wrought tannins.
James Suckling
At first this feels like you’re standing in front of a set of locked gates. Huge power and structure without that much weight, thanks to the wonderful freshness that’s intertwined with the tarry depths of this Hermitage masterpiece. As it aerates smoked bacon, menthol and licorice notes develop, but I’d need much more space to give you all the aromas! The huge tannins at the finish are finely chiseled, suggesting this has decades of life ahead of it. From 40 to 100-year-old syrah vines. From biodynamically grown grapes.