2003 Hermitage La Chapelle

Rumors were swirling about the impending sale of this venerable house, which has been owned by the Jaboulet family since 1834.France's inheritance laws, combined with the multitude of Jaboulets, have conspired to make a sale unavoidable.Frederic and Laurent Jaboulet, with whom I tasted, were cagey about the prospective buyer, but it is confirmed to be Jean-Jacques Frey, a part-owner of Billecart-Salmon and owner of Chateau La Lagune.The Jaboulet 2004s are highly successful and I am impressed by the leap in quality that has occurred here since the arrival of Laurent as head winemaker with the 2001 vintage.Educated and trained in Burgundy, Laurent's last job before returning home was at Domaine Ramonet.His style favors richness of fruit and elegance over sheer power, and the 2004 vintage provided excellent conditions to showcase this approach.I found many of the Jaboulet 2003 reds especially marked by the vintage's extreme heat.

With the excitable Jacques Jaboulet bouncing off the walls in expressing his enthusiasm for the young 2003s-some of which he compared to this house's '61s-it was hard to come away with coherent tasting notes and accurate technical information on these wines. At the top levels, though, the Jaboulet 2003 collection is impressive, and not just the reds. But the 2003 whites are probably best suited for drinking on the young side, notes Frederic Jaboulet. (Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY). Also tasted: 2002 Cornas Les Grandes Terrasses, 2002 Cote-Rotie Les Jumelles.