2014 Crozes-Hermitage, Domaine de Thalabert, Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Rhône

2014 Crozes-Hermitage, Domaine de Thalabert, Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Rhône

Product: 20148013987
Prices start from £67.00 per magnum (150cl). Buying options
2014 Crozes-Hermitage, Domaine de Thalabert, Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Rhône

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Description

Showing some development to the colour, and more transparency than a young vintage. Certainly developed now on the nose too, a pleasing note of sweet decay, like autumn leaf mulch. Rolling tobacco and a touch of oak spice to the soft forest berry fruit. Light- to medium-bodied, with good acidity. The tannins are resolved now, just a touch of dryness on the tip of the tongue from the oak. Fully developed now, no need to keep.

Drink now

Matt Walls, Decanter.com (September 2022)

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Critics reviews

Josh Raynolds, Vinous92/100

Deep ruby. Lively aromas of ripe dark berries, cherry liqueur, liquorice and candied violet on the highly perfumed nose. Round, seamless and broad on the palate, offering pliant blackberry and cherry compote flavours sharpened by a spicy nuance and a jolt of smoky minerality. Closes on a smoky note, displaying smooth tannins, excellent persistence and lingering florality.

According to Caroline Frey and Jacques Desnervois, the energy that marks so many 2014 red wines came about because following veraison, the weather was warm but not so hot that acidity could drop. Just as important was the fact that “the sun didn’t really come out much” and sugar levels didn’t accelerate as they might under sunny, hot conditions. As such, the vineyards didn’t absorb much in the way of daytime heat and the nights were consistently cool as well. The resulting wines should show well young, but I suspect they will also evolve gracefully thanks to their energy and balance. The 2015 white wines are, predictably, a huge success and are destined to be cellar treasures for those with storage space and patience.

Drink 2020 - 2026

Josh Raynolds, Vinous.com (July 2017)

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Wine Advocate91/100

The 2014 vintage was difficult for the flatter, more water-retentive soils in Crozes-Hermitage, yet both releases from Caroline Frey and her team are solid wines. Another outstanding wine from Crozes-Hermitage is the 2014 Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert. It’s certainly one of the reference point cuvées from the appellation and has a great track record about age ability as well. Sweet black cherries, blackberries, tobacco leaf and earth all emerge from this medium-bodied, supple, already delicious Syrah that can be drunk with considerable pleasure anytime over the coming decade.

Drink 2016 - 2026

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (December 2016)

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James Suckling91/100

A creamy, modern dark berry fruited nose with a wealth of cherries, cassis and baked plum fruits. Smells ripe. The palate has red plums, chocolate and a dark stony edge. Soft and smooth tannins. An open-knit, earlier drinking style. 

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James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (September 2017)

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Decanter92/100

Showing some development to the colour, and more transparency than a young vintage. Certainly developed now on the nose too, a pleasing note of sweet decay, like autumn leaf mulch. Rolling tobacco and a touch of oak spice to the soft forest berry fruit. Light- to medium-bodied, with good acidity. The tannins are resolved now, just a touch of dryness on the tip of the tongue from the oak. Fully developed now, no need to keep.

Drink now

Matt Walls, Decanter.com (September 2022)

Read more

About this WINE

Jaboulet

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.

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Crozes-Hermitage

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 JabouletChapoutierColombier, Ferraton
Best vintages: 2006, 2005, 2004, 1999, 1995, 1990, 1989, 1988,

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Syrah/Shiraz

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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