Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Ermitage Red 2014 / 2016

Type: Red
Country: France
Region: Northern Rhone
Grape Variety: 100% Syrah
Viticulture: High Environmental Value Level 3
Rating: 94 Robert Parker Points (2014)

Climate: Mediterranean climate with cold winters, and warm summers. Rain falls predominantly in the autumn and winter months
Terroir: 40+ year-old vines are planted on limestone and alluvial soil that is located on steep slopes and often on terraces
Winemaking: The grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed and chilled for 24 to 48 hours. The grapes are then fermented in wooden vats. Maceration lasts three to four weeks, which is long. Both Pump-overs and punch-downs are performed twice a day. This wine was then aged for 24 months in a 228-litre oak barrel (50% new oak)

Color: Ruby red
Nose: Notes of tobacco, leather, pepper and spices
Palate: A lot of tannins in the mouth. Powerful palate yet balanced with finesse and elegance

About the Winery:
Philippe Jaboulet and his son, Vincent, carry on long-established family winemaking traditions at Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet in Crozes-Hermitage. Located in the northern Rhône Valley about one mile south of Tain l’Hermitage, the Domaine was founded in 2006 following the sale of Maison Paul Jaboulet Ainé, where Philippe managed the family’s vineyards and handled all grape purchasing.

After the sale, Philippe and Vincent retained about 32 acres of the family’s vineyards, including most notably a parcel of the original Thalabert vineyard, which is situated in the Crozes-Hermitage appellation. (Philippe and Vincent Jaboulet acquired another 37 acres to add to the newly formed Domaine, including a small plot in Cornas-1.7 acres.) The parcel from the Thalabert vineyard that belonged to Paul Jaboulet Ainé was renamed Nouvelère, commemorating the ‘new era’. The Domaine’s Nouvelère wine is produced from the vineyard’s oldest vines, up to 80 years old. (See below.)

The domaine owns other vineyard holdings in Crozes-Hermitage, where relatively younger vines yield full-bodied reds from the Syrah variety. These wines are aged in tanks and both small and large oak barrels; no new wood barrels are employed.) These reds are released two years after the vintage. The Domaine’s Crozes Hermitage white wine comes from the Marsanne grape.

In Hermitage, the Syrah wines are sourced from 30-year-old vines in the Les Dionnières lieu-dit; the grapes are raised carefully: with organic fertilizer and no chemical insecticides. The family also produces limited quantities of Hermitage white wines, made from 100% Roussanne grapes; in Cornas, a small amount of red wine is produced.

The entire Domaine has received the High Environmental Value certification from the French Ministry of Agriculture, recognition of the Domaine’s efforts to implement environmentally respectful practices, according to Vincent Jaboulet.