Jaboulet upswing
After a period of poor performance the Rhône house of Jaboulet is going from strength to strength.
After a period of poor performance the Rhône house of Jaboulet is going from strength to strength.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Toasting the New Year with… Bordeaux.
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.