Wojciech Bońkowski
Master of Wine

Jaboulet upswing

After a period of poor performance the Rhône house of Jaboulet is going from strength to strength.

Réméjeanne Arbousiers 2004

Can’t get enough Côtes du Rhône at the moment. It’s become my favourite red wine. Today, a succulent example from overperforming Domaine La Réméjeanne.

La Monardière Vacqueyras 2005

I’ve grown into something of a Southern Rhône addict. This 2005 Vacqueyras from Domaine La Monardière is hitting all the right notes for me.

Marcel Richaud Cairanne 2000

One of those days when everything just goes fine. Including this stunning bottle of 11-year-old Côtes du Rhône. Worth three times its price.

Gourt de Mautens 2006

I’ve long wanted to taste a wine from this estate, but somehow it has always eluded me. Finally I got hold of a bottle. Expectations were high. It’s an excellent wine but I don’t like it.

Indulgence

Toasting the New Year with… Bordeaux.

Nicolas Jaboulet Saint-Joseph 2007

I need to drink more French wines. I want to drink more French wines. Every time I do, I’m fascinated by their world of flavours and cultural context. For example, I very rarely drink Syrah from the Northern Rhône. Upon a recent visit to the excellent Aux Fins Gourmets shop near Wiesbaden, I asked owner Mathias Hilse to recommend a good-value Syrah. He came up with this wine from an exciting new venture by Nicolas Jaboulet (until recently owner of the Paul Jaboulet Aîné négociant house, before it was sold in 2006) and the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel fame. With such drivers behind the wheel, this new estate surely looks very promising. (The website is here).
Jaboulet and Perrin operate as a ‘boutique négociant’: there are no own vineyards and the cellar space is at Beaucastel. Single barrels of good Northern Rhône wines are purchased from top growers in the region, and Jaboulet is overseeing the élevage.

So how is this Saint-Joseph 2007 showing? From a good vintage, this is drinking nicely now, though a year or two more in bottle will do no harm. What’s really exciting here is the typicity – this is Northern Syrah at its most recognisable, with a mildly flowery, raspberryish nose, high acidity, tight tannins, and an almost Burgundian sense of refreshment to it. There’s indeed quite a bit of Pinot Noir/Gamay character in this wine. It made me think of old books about the Rhône Valley where Syrah from Côte-Rôtie and other appellations here was often defined as the southern outpost of Burgundian-styled wine (as opposed to the fully Mediterranean Syrahs further down south). Back in the 1970s and 1980s, many wines had to be chaptalised here to ever reach 12,5% alc. These times seem as distant as the Hundred Years’ War now: Côte-Rôtie has become full of 14% Parkerized blockbusters. While vinified in a modern way, this Saint-Joseph captures the northern zest well.

I feel a bit ambiguous about it, though. It’s really a rather simple wine, with not a mass of dimension (interestingly it got a lowish 14/20 from Bettane & Desseauve), and the asking price of 18€ seems a bit steep: you’re surely paying a premium for the Jaboulet and Perrin names on the label. For what is a middle-class (though ambitious) appellation, it’s a bit disturbing to see an entry-level wine like this priced so high. On the other hand, the winemaking here is brilliant: there’s not a milligram of oak noticeable in the flavour, and the wine is perfectly balanced with finely gauged acids and tannins. The quality of the latter is top-notch. In the end I enjoyed this quite a bit, but I need to start saving for this producer’s Hermitage which nears 50€ per bottle.