33% off retail!
Too late, we are SOLD OUT!
La Chapelle-level greatness at a STUNNING price. MAGNUMS too! If you love the world’s finest Syrahs, this is a massive no-brainer. Get ready to be blown away.
We think it can be said: Jaboulet is making the best wines of its long history RIGHT NOW. This relatively new Maison Bleue bottling (named after a beautiful old shed in the vineyard), from the more clay/limestone and loamy soils on the eastern side of the appellation is truly breathtaking, considering its pedigree vs. price.
We tasted at the winery last year (plus a wonderful hike up to La Chapelle itself) and were just knocked out by the quality of what is happening recently at Jaboulet. The wines are hitting the warehouse right now and we can’t recommend them more highly. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED...especially those magnums!
The history of Crozes-Hermitage is inextricably linked with Thalabert and Jaboulet. The earliest records of winemaking in this region can be traced to the early 14th century, a time when barrels of wine from the village of Mercurol were shipped across the channel to London. The trail goes dark until the early 18th century, when wines from the northern village of Larnages were regularly exported to England by way of Bordeaux. Back then they were sold as "Vin de Mure", named after Larnages' wealthiest family.
It wasn't until the early 19th century, just after Antoine Jaboulet purchased Thalabert, that wines from Crozes-Hermitage grew in reputation and price to levels that put them near the top of the pecking order in the Rhone valley. Jaboulet documents show that casks of 1889 Crozes Rouge from Thalabert were sold for 500 francs per 220-litre barrel. For comparison, Cornas and Saint Joseph were sold for 400 francs per barrel and Chateauneuf du Pape a measly 350 francs. The only barrels of wine that fetched a higher price were from Hermitage and Cote Rotie. The message was clear: Thalabert is the gold standard for price and quality for all of Crozes-Hermitage. It is a distinction that holds to this day.