2009 - Hermitage La Petite Chapelle, Paul Jaboulet Aine

Saturated ruby. Black and blue fruit preserves, Indian spices and potpourri on the expressive, highly perfumed nose. Deeply pitched but lively, offering sappy boysenberry and cherry flavors braced by zesty minerality. Clings with excellent tenacity and clarity, repeating the floral note.

The 2009 Hermitage La Petite Chapelle is better than some of the Hermitage La Chapelles made in the last days of the Jaboulet administration. Its dense purple color is accompanied by aromas of meat, cassis, blackberries and camphor. The wine is supple, luscious, sexy and ideal for drinking over the next 10-15 years. One needs no further evidence of the extraordinary turn around in the quality of the Jaboulet wines than what proprietress Caroline Frey has accomplished in 2009 as well as 2010. As I indicated last year, this is one of the great qualitative turn arounds in the wine world. It is welcomed by all wine lovers given the historic legacy of the wines of Jaboulet and the importance of this famous firm in all of France. Ms. Frey, who is also responsible for the brilliant wines produced at La Lagune in Bordeaux, has reduced the amount of new oak for the red wines to about 20% and to negligible proportions for the whites. A second wine of Hermitage, La Petite Chapelle, is fashioned from 33% or more of the production that is culled out to guarantee that the great reputation of the Hermitage La Chapelle has enjoyed over the last century is maintained. Importer: Frederick Wildman, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700