2020 Crozes-Hermitage, Domaine de Roure, Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Rhône
Critics reviews
Firm, muscular and very dense. Plenty of fruit and flesh but powerful tannins as well. Needs to be treated as a mini-Hermitage more than a Crozes. Will need time to knit.
Drink 2026 - 2035
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (October 2021)
From a property in Gervans, the 2020 Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Roure features classic granite aromatics of crushed stone and cassis, plus hallmark mineral-like austerity and reserve. It's medium to full-bodied, yet not overly tannic or concentrated. Readers should note there was no 2019 bottled, but the 2018 is an excellent wine.
Drink 2023 - 2035
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate (January 2022)
Peppery and dark-fruited with some walnut and cigar box character. Full-bodied with broad, coating tannins. Fresh acidity gives uplift. Firm finish. From organically grown grapes.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (November 2021)
About this WINE
Jaboulet
Paul Jaboulet Aîné is an iconic producer in the Rhône Valley. Founded in 1834 by Antoine Jaboulet (father of Paul), it was Paul’s son Louis and grandson Gérard who can be heralded among the great ambassadors for both the region and the négociant. Upon Gérard’s untimely death in 1997, the business began struggling and was sold to the Frey family in 2005.
Caroline Frey, daughter of owner Jean-Jacques Frey, has been at the helm of winemaking here since 2006. She immediately began converting the estate to sustainable farming, achieving organic certification in 2016. In 2022, Jean-Guillaume Prats, of Bordeaux fame, was brought onboard.
Crozes-Hermitage
Crôzes-Hermitage is the largest AC in the Northern Rhône, producing 10 times the volume of Hermitage and over half of the Northern Rhône’s total production. The appellation was created in 1937 with the single commune of Crozes, which is situated northeast of the hill of Hermitage. Wines are now produced from 11 different communes.
Its vineyards surround the hill of Hermitage on equally hilly terrain where richer soils produce wines that are softer and fruitier, with a more forward style. The Syrah variety is used, but legally Marsanne and Roussanne can be added to the blend (up to 15 percent). In the north, the commune of Gervans is similar to Les Bessards in Hermitage, with granite soil producing tannic reds that need time to evolve.While in Larnage, in the south, the heavy clay soils give the wine breadth and depth (albeit they can sometimes be flabby), the soils to the east of river on higher ground comprise stony, sandy and clay limestone, making them ideal for the production of white wines.
The best reds are produced on the plateaus of Les Chassis and Les Sept Chenin, which straddles the infamous N7 road to the south of Tain. Here the land is covered with cailloux roulés, which resemble the small pudding stones fond in Châteauneuf.
The wines can vary hugely in quality and style, and the majority of the reds tend to be fairly light. Many of the wines are made by a variation of the macération carbonique technique, bottled no later than one year after the vinification. The best producers, however, use traditional fermentation techniques.
There are small amounts of white wine made from Marsanne and Roussanne, accounting for approximately 10 percent of the appellation. The finest whites are produced from around Mercurol.
Recommended producers: Paul Jaboulet, Chapoutier, Colombier, Ferraton
Best vintages: 2006, 2005, 2004, 1999, 1995, 1990, 1989, 1988,
Syrah/Shiraz
A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries.
It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness.
South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.
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Description
This hails from a 3.5-hectare plot in the commune of Gervans, to the north of Tain l’Hermitage. Here, the 40- to 60- year-old vines grow on steep, south-west facing granitic slopes and produce wines of great structure and depth. Here, the wine’s inky purple robe is mirrored by its layers of dense blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, and it’s a palate of smooth, mouth-filling tannins. It is all but over-bearing, however. Its richness and power is expertly balanced by a burst of kirsch cherries and olive tapenade, and a steely brush of graphite.
Drink 2025 - 2032
Georgina Haacke, Fine Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd
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