Crozes-Hermitage (3) Paul Jaboulet-Aîné
Paul Jaboulet Aîné is one of the famous names in the northern Rhône. Owners of the famous chapel on the hill of Hermitage, La Chapelle has been an iconic expression of this famous terroir. I remember from my early days of wine exploration buying the more affordable Thalabert cuvée of Crozes-Hermitage, and it aged beautifully, even under my bed. I drank quite a bit of the 1990. But for a decade this was a famous name that underperformed, from the 1994 vintage. The family weren’t getting along and the winemaking became variable. Jaboulet was sold to the Frey family, and is now run by Caroline Frey, who was trained by Denis Dubourdieu in Bordeaux. First she started making wine at another Frey family estate, Château La Lagune, and then she came to Jaboulet in 2006.

I met with Nicolas Mielly, who has been sales director since 2022. ‘Crozes-Hermitage has always been in the DNA of Jaboulet,’ says Nicolas. Thalabert was the first vineyard of Jaboulet in 1834, and it’s a 45 hectare parcel with alluvial soils. Some of the vines are 90 years old. ‘It’s almost a brand on its own for us,’ says Nicolas. Jaboulet have around 60 hectares in Crozes-Hermitage, and their famous Les Jalets cuvée is young vines from Thalabert plus bought in grapes.

Paul Jaboulet Aîné Domaine de Roure Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2021 France
14% alcohol. This is from loess soils near Gervans, lieu dit Les Blancs. 100% Marsanne, and no malolactic fermentation (this is true across all Jaboulet whites). Bright, linear and pure with a pithy edge to the citrus and pear fruit. It’s quite light and linear with a nice acid line. 90/100
Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Les Jalets 2022
13% alcohol. Organic. Supple and polite, with well balanced cherry and berry fruits, with nice fruit focus and a touch of savoury, stony character on the finish. Perfectly correct and enjoyable, but very conservative in style. 89/100
Paul Jaboulet Aîné Domaine de Roure Crozes-Hermitage Rouge 2016 France
13.5% alcohol. From granitic soils in the north of the appellation. This is grainy and detailed with a nice peppery twist and some crushed rock notes, as well as sweet fruit. It’s cherries, raspberries and some strawberry with some notes of iron and blood. Lovely detail and complexity here, with nice tension between the sweet fruit and the granitic influence. 95/100

Paul Jaboulet Aîné Domaine de Thalabert Crozes-Hermitage 2010 France
Organic farming, trellised, cordon (guyot is not allowed in the appellation, but this is under review, and for two years has been allowed for whites). This is very fine with some nice development, offering olives, meat and spices with some notes of blood and iodine, as well as some tannic grip on the finish. There’s a warmth to the fruit, which is all wild strawberries and plums. Lovely wine. 95/100
CROZES-HERMITAGE
- Chapoutier
- Paul Jaboulet Aîné
- Maison et Domaines Les Alexandrins
- Cave de Tain
- Delas Frères
- Yann Chave
- Luc Tardy/Domaine du Murinais
- Domaine Combier
- Domaine Delhome
- Domaine Pradelle
- Antoine Graillot/ Domaine des Lises/ Domaine Alain Graillot
- Domaine des Hauts Châssis
- Domaine Belle
- Clairmont Cooperative
- Domaine Laurent Fayoll