Now don’t think I’m criticising the Labour party, far from it. This practice is what every new government does and, when Gordon Brown is ousted from power, by the Tories or his own party, whichever comes first, everything that goes tits up will be his fault and all success will be due to his successor.
But when a government has been in power for a number of years, as with John Major in the 1990’s and Gordon Brown now, if things go well, they are entirely your success, but if they go wrong, you can’t blame anyone but yourself. The same now applies now to the Rhone producer, Paul Jaboulet Aine.
This legendary wine company was bought by the Frey family, who own Chateau La Lagune in Bordeaux, in 2006. I have written before about how their wines were a bit of a mixed bag with those produced after they took over being far better quality than those made before. You had to give them the benefit of the doubt that things were going to get better and allow some of the wines to suck a bit. But now, nearly four years since they started their quest to restore Jaboulet back to it’s former glory, most of their current range is now from vintages post takeover. For the handful that is not, the wines are from the 2005 vintage, so the current owners have overseen them since their infancy. Are the wines that Jaboulet is producing of high quality or is the company going the way of Mr Brown and are stuck in the mess they have created?
2007 Condrieu ‘Les Cassines’
This voignier has lovely sweet peach and nectarine on the nose, with just a hint of green apple. The palate has a lovely texture, a little oily, with great fruit and beautiful balance. The finish is fruit filled, long and lingering, but then the acid comes in and gives a perfect balance. 9/10 £32
2007 Crozes Hermitage ‘Domaine Mule Blanche’
Very pretty nose, peach and wild flowers. Some fresh grapes and lychee stone coming on the palate, a really nice mouthfeel, quite weighty but balanced – like a chunky tightrope walker! You get a little cedar on the finish. 8/10 £22
2005 Hermitage ‘Le Chevalier de Sterimberg’
Oak hits you up front, like being smacked in the face with a log. The aroma then goes onto pears sprinkled with salt, and then with a creamy texture, pineapple skin and floral flavours. A nice finish, but with a lot of wood. I liked it but think that many people wouldn’t. 8.5/10 £36
2008 Cotes du Rhone Rose ‘Parallele 45’
Strawberry bubblegum mixed in a milkshake and then diluted with strawberry juice. It’s not my thing. 6/10
2007 Cotes du Rhone Rouge ‘Parallele 45’
Rich, spicy bramble with long black pepper notes. There is simple, fresh fruit on the palate, a bit of pepper and then dried fruit. A bit bigger than I’d like but a decent wine. 8/10 £9
2007 Gigondas ‘Pierre Aiguille’
Imagine a plane bombing you with Brussels Sprouts. This is a full on veg attack, with dark berries protecting you from a barrage of greenery! Spice comes in on the palate with liquorice, cocoa and a touch of leather, but with plum stone and a little cherry. A fun, if full on sensory overload. 8.5/10 £17
2006 Crozes Hermitage ‘Les Jalets’
Opulent black fruit, a lot of cassis lifted by wild strawberries and spiced up by cracked black pepper. The palate has lovely syrah fruit, cherry, plum stone and pepper. Very drinkable with some mint on the finish. 8/10 £12
2006 Saint-Joseph ‘Le Grand Pompee’
A lot of boot polish and sweet, but mellow berry fruit. The palate has delightful pepper and plum skin flavours. A nice wine. 8/10 £12
2006 Crozes Hermitage ‘Domaine de Thalabert’
Gentle spice layered on top of the dried fruit, with liquorice with a bit of chocolate and a load of leather on the palate, finishing up with a kick of spice before tobacco. 8.5/10 £5
2006 Cote Rotie ‘Les Jumelles’
Entirely syrah – no viognier – and this is still quite floral. Lots of lighter red berries, glances of spice with tobacco and a harsh leather element that spoils it for me. It needs a bit more structure and doesn’t have it. An ok wine, but over priced. 6.5/10 £44
2005 Hermitage ‘La Petite Chapelle’
Big, up front fruit aromas, cassis meets cherries meets strawberries. There are aromas of aniseed coming off with a palate of softened fruit. A grippy tannin, mixed with a bundle of spice and a noticeable alcohol coming off. Very concentrated and with a warmness on the finish. 8/10 £45
2005 Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’
Rich chocolate, bramble and with a really interesting clove element mixed in with the berries. Cherry stone and pepper on the palate with some cocoa and mint. A very well made wine, and whilst not worth the money, it is a wine you should try. 8.5/10 £115
The Frey family should be happy as they are riding high and are enjoying the success of the hard work they have put into this old Rhone producer. There is the occasional wine that is not performing as well as it should – think of them as a Jacqui Smith of the wine world– but the wines are very good and worth the money you are paying for them. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the British Government!
As a post script, we had dinner and they very kindly brought out two older magnums, from the pre Frey era. We started off with a magnum of their 1999 Cornas ‘Domaine de Saint Pierre’. Very rich, dried fruit cake on the nose, with some cloves and a really nice pork fat and herb (sage?) aroma. The palate has up front spice and lovely prune flavours and lots of leather and dusty spice. A fantastic wine, just so sexy and perfect. 9/10
The second wine was the 1997 Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’ in magnum. An intense, dark berry and pepper corn aroma mixed with some bramble sweetness and chocolate creaminess. The palate is so soft at first, then the alcohol and spice kicks in with loads of liquorice and mint that leads on to a dark, herb and concentrated fruit palate. Definitely a wow wine, but still too young. 9/10
These wines were excellent and shows what PJA was like in days of old when the wine gets a bit of age on them, and what they new company's wines could become in years to come. I hope they do.
Paul Jaboulet Aine
With thanks to Liberty Wines
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