WINE

The Great
Pretender
Many wine lovers consider the 1961
Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle
Rouge to be one of the great wines;
unfortunately it is very scarce. So is there
an equivalent in the offing?

In conversation at a recent wine dinner, the

subject turned to the staggering price that a
case of 1961 Paul Jaboulet La Chapelle fetched
at Christie’s Fine and Rare Wine Auction
in London, September 2007, a staggering
GBP123,750 (HK$945187.00) inclusive of
taxes and premiums, a European record for
a single case of wine. The conversation then
turned to the vintages of La Chapelle that
might potentially be the equal of the enduring
1961. According to the vintage charts, the 1978
and 1990 are the obvious candidates.
Dr N K Yong, arguably one of the most
erudite and seasoned fine wine palates in Asia
offered the opinion, based on countless visits
to Jaboulet and in-depth conversations with
the late Gerard Jaboulet, “that while the 1978
was a most impressive wine, the 1990 is a
stronger contender to match the 1961”. Wine
critic and Rhone Valley enthusiast Robert
Parker Jr scored both the 1978 and 1990
a perfect 100 and declared the 1990: “The
modern day equivalent of the 1961, it deserves
all the attention it has garnered.”
Swiss financier Jean-Jacques Frey acquired
Paul Jaboulet Aine in 2006 and, judging by the
results following Frey’s purchase of Chateau
La Lagune, the expectation is for exponential
changes in the vineyard and winery.
I was a guest of the Frey family, while
participating in the 2007 en primeur tastings,
and they proved consummate hosts during my
stay at the impeccably renovated Chateau La
Lagune. At dinner in the congenial ambiance
of Chateau’s converted cellar open-plan kitchen
one evening, in the company of a number of
revered Master of Wines and accomplished
1

42 43
 1990 is a strong contender to
match the 1961
wine writers from around the world, I was
treated to a 1991 Paul Jaboulet La Chapelle
served blind, in this case poured from a
decanter, the consensus was a dignified Grand
Cru Classe Bordeaux with considerable bottle
age, perhaps 1985 or 1986.
The revelation for me was how an off-
vintage or cooler year of an Hermitage from a
producer considered to be underachieving at
the time, can be deemed by discerning palates
as comparable to a higher echelon Bordeaux.
Clearly we should consider what is in the bottle,
rather than be prejudiced by market sentiment
or the vagaries of the wine press. This bottle and
an equally splendid second bottle liberated from
the cellar were empowering, necessitating a
reassessment of one’s impression of Hermitage.
My notes on the wine at the time of tasting:
extraordinary perfume of sweaty saddle and
worn leather, a melange of Asian spices, Indian
cardamom seed, mixed spice box, anise, building
to an intense spiciness with liquorice notes;
alluring cedar forest, morels and dried woods,
ducks’ guts and pan-fried liver smells, the iron-
flint-gunpowder fingerprint of the terroir giving
way to a tangible dried mushroom character and
the toffee sweetness of a wine at its meridian.
A subtly sweet, caramel-led palate, tawny
port flavours, light and ethereal, yet incredibly
powerful and voluminous in the flavour and
explosion of spices, which is dominated by
star anise and clove. Becomes very gamey and
savoury, Chinese roast duck juices, when the
duck is just cut open and the cooking juices
and garlic and clove aromas fill the senses; so
much like a great Burgundy, with its sweetness
oscillating with tangy tartness and piercingly
sour raspberry, redcurrant berry-fruit. Although
drinking absolutely perfectly, it still has fine
tannins and a harmonious acidity that suggests it
will hold for some time yet, an incredible wine,
demonstrative of the magnificence of Hermitage.
The following morning I flew down to the
Rhone Valley emerging from Lyon airport into
a bracing six degrees Celsius, although already
a wonderfully sunny day. I was scheduled for a
comprehensive tasting at the Jaboulet cellars with
export manager Christophe Brunet, who had
previously been with Miguel Torres and knows
the Asia market intimately. Moreover, Brunet
2 is under the new ownership of the Frey’s, and
was one of the world’s leading sommeliers in
his previous career and there is no facet of wine,
food, and the workings of restaurants and every
minutiae of the Rhone Valley, or any wine region
for that matter, that this dynamic, passionate and
amiable individual is not familiar with.
After a most enlightening tasting,
particularly the white wines, which I will have
to report on in a future article, I was whisked
off to lunch by Brunet and joined by Nicholas
Jaboulet (nephew of the late and legendary
Gerald Jaboulet) at the Les Cedres restaurant,
a two Michelin establishment serving exquisite
regionally focused haute-cuisine with the most
impeccable and highly-professional service I
have ever encountered. However, and much to
my elation, the dining experience was somewhat
overwhelmed by the bottle of 1990 La Chapelle
that arrived at the table, pristinely cellared by
44
3 4
5
the restaurant and expertly decanted and served
by our dutiful sommelier.
This is without doubt one of the most
profound wines I have ever tasted and an
experience that will stay in my memory forever.
Photsos: Curtis Marsh, Paul Jaboulet aine
Old leather and antique timbers, dark soy
and oriental spices, concentrated black cherry,
dried figs and prunes with a Christmas cake
1-2 Working on the
richness, oscillating to tangy dried tomato
mosaic terraced slopes
of Hermitage in the and savoury notes of old balsamic and fireside
Northern Rhone Valley charcoals. Breathes out becoming incredibly
3-4 A 2003 Paul Jaboulet intense and port-like, in a good way, with sweet
Hermitage La Chapelle molasses, dried liquorice and tar, the sweetness
Rouge and a classic of perfume Burgundy-like, I am thinking La
1990, liberated from
Tache, amongst ducks’ guts, pan fried liver and
the cellars at La Cedre
Text: Curtis Marsh
Restaurant smokey bacon fat.
5 Paul Jaboulet maturation
Harmonising these hedonistic sensations
cellars, dug into the is the wonderful freshness of pine forest,
limestone caves pine needles and menthol, like a Barolo on
the equivalent of the 1961. Will it achieve the
same stratospheric price of the 1961? This will
depend largely upon the rarity factor, and one
has to consider most of the 1961 has been
consumed and is indeed a very rare beast,
whereas there is still ample 1990 available on
the secondary market. Time will tell.
Following our indulgent lunch I spent the
afternoon with Brunet walking through the
Hermitage vineyards, making our way around
the precarious terraces and climbing up to
the La Chapelle vineyard and tiny Chapel of
Saint-Christophe, with its breathtaking views
overlooking the terraced vineyards along the
Rhône. Even today, with the tranquility and
timeless arid terrain, one can easily relate to the
serenity and isolation sought by Gaspard de
Sterimberg, the valiant and injured knight who
returned from the Albigensian crusade in 1234,
seeking refuge in these hills, and building the
tiny Chapel where he saw out his remaining
days as a hermit, hence the origin of the
Hermitage appellation.
They have been making wine in these
parts since 600BC, the Rhône Valley seen as
the spiritual home of Syrah; the first plantings
thought to have been around the 10th Century.
The Jaboulet family became the sole owners
of the La Chapelle vineyard in 1919, however
one cannot help but feel even more enthusiastic
about the extensive Jaboulet range now that it
my future expectations of this venerable Rhone
Valley house are exceedingly high.
steroids. Incredibly unctuous and chewy palate,
although strikingly fresh and lively, intense Where to Find it
spicy black pepper warmth, then a saturation
of black cherry and blood plum, with layers Paul Jaboulet is distributed in Hong Kong by Links
of rich sweet berry fruit, dark chocolate and Concept Company, situated in Sheung Wan, Tel:
liquorice, a big black tarry, meaty, leathery 2802 2818, or email patricio@linksconcept.com.hk
mouthful of wine; a wave of tannins cutting They stock several back vintages but among
through the unctuousness bringing with it the the more current are the outstanding 2003
accentuated minerality of iron, wet granite and (HK$1325 per bottle) and praiseworthy 2004
gunflint, with an earthy farewell of black truffle, (HK$1150 per bottle), both exceptionally well
cedar-forest floor and pine mushroom. A tour priced, a reflection of the zero tax on wine in
de force, the wine continually growing and Hong Kong.
evolving over the hour and showing no signs of Paul Jaboulet is distributed in mainland
stopping, I can only assume it will continue to China by Summergate International, based in
age for many decades. Shanghai, Tel: +86 (21) 6329 4433 email: ian.
Which wine is better is really a question ford@summergate.com
of personal taste, but clearly the profound For more information on Paul Jaboulet, visit
impact of the 1990, a vintage that it is still www.jaboulet.com
evolving, convinced me that it will become
45