Wine Review: Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle 1994 – Celebrating 500 Subscribers!

In this tasting I have reached into the cellar to try and find something interesting, unusual and a bit special to allow me to celebrate reaching a small milestone in the growth of my YouTube channel – Reaching 500 subscribers! The wine is a fully mature example of Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine’s Hermitage La Chapelle from the 1994 vintage. I’m pleased to say it showed far better that I imagined. Thank you all for your support and I hope you enjoy the tasting!

The Jaboulet family were winemakers in the Rhone valley from 1834 when Antoine Jaboulet first started tending vines on the Hermitage hillside. The vineyards Antoine nurtured became some of the best known plots (climats) in this famous appellation and laid the foundations for his family to become one of the Rhone Valley’s leading producers. The company came to be named after Antoine’s eldest son Paul.

In the mid 20th Century the quality of the company’s wines, both their own and their negociant bottlings, was unsurpassed, however, the rise of domaine-bottling in the late 1980s and early 90s robbed the company of some of its best sources of blending wines. The company’s decline was cemented by the incapacitation of its winemaker Jaques Jaboulet in 1992 in a diving accident, followed in 1997 by the death of company president Gerard Jaboulet, from a heart attack, aged just 55.

The company went into decline in the late 1990s where for a period of nine years it was administered by 7 family members. The sometimes divided management was unable to halt the decline and in 2006 Jaboulet was sold to the Frey Family. The Frey’s efforts to restore and rejuvenate the company have been impressive, but this wine was produced at a time when Jaboulet’s fortunes were waning.

As Jaboulet’s flagship wine Hermitage La Chapelle is highly sought-after, reaching high prices at auction. It is named for an historic chapel at the top of the Hermitage hill.

With 26 hectares of vineyards, Jaboulet have owned vines on the Hermitage slopes for over a century and have owned the chapel since 1919. Conversion to organic farming began soon after Freys took the reins and the vines have been farmed biodynamically since 2018.

Hermitage La Chapelle is 100% Syrah from the most stony sections of the climats Le Méal, Les Bessards, Les Rocoules and Greffieux. Vines are 40-60 years old. The wine is prized for its silkiness, dark fruit characters and tannic structure. It is capable of ageing over many decades.

To find out more about this wine, its price and where to purchase it follow this link to the Wine-Searcher website:https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/dom+de+la+chapelle+hermitage+rhone+france/1994?referring_site=DCA

▶️ CHAPTERS:
0:00 Tasting something special to celebrate 500 subscribers
0:34 Hermitage La Chapelle 1994 wine label
0:57 Greeks bring vines to the Rhone Valley c600BC
1:17 Romans are the first to trade the wines of the Rhone
1:27 Appellation is named for a 12th Century hermit
2:02 Rhone runs West-East at Tain giving hills with south and southwesterly aspects
2:27 The river reflects light to the vines and moderates the warm climate
2:47 Soils
2:59 Louis XIII popularized Hermitage
3:09 History of the Jaboulet family
3:36 Antoine’s sons take over and the company is named after his eldest son Paul
4:02 1919 Jaboulet buy the chapel
4:12 Louis Jaboulet builds the company’s reputation
4:25 Critics believe 1961 La Chapelle is among the greatest wines ever made
4:50 Rise of domaine-bottling sees Jaboulet lose some of their best fruit sources
5:24 1992 Winemaker Jaques Jaboulet incapacitated by a diving accident
5:38 1997 Gerard Jaboulet dies of a heart attack
5:50 Company is run for 9 years by 7 family members
6:02 2006 company is sold to Jean Jacques Frey
6:25 Caroline Frey rejuvenates and rebuilds the company reputation
6:53 2021 Domaine de La Chapelle becomes a separate estate
7:18 Jaboulet are one of the largest vineyard owners in Hermitage
7:31 La Chapelle is not a single vineyard wine
7:45 Vine age
8:06 Principal climats of La Chapelle
8:16 Le Meal
8:26 Bessards
8:36 Other parcels
8:48 Plots vinified separately
9:20 1994 vintage in Hermitage
9:57 No second wine at this stage
10:07 100% Syrah
10:19 WINEMAKING – hand picked and destemmed
10:25 vinified by parcel
10:35 21-25 day cuvaison
10:47 Aged 14-18 months in French oak – 25% new
11:12 Benefits from being decanted
11:38 TASTING – Appearance
12:20 Aromas
13:46 Palate
15:47 Drinking window
15:57 Conclusions
16:42 Score
17:25 Thanks, closing remarks and sign-off

▶️ Follow this link to see my video tasting of Jacob’s Creek Classic Sauvignon Blanc 2025: https://youtu.be/fU0fbvz-2aA

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