【Old and famous winery in the northern Rhone + biodynamic cultivation】
【 James Suckling 93 pts】
【Wine Advocate 93+ pts】
【Vinous 94 pts】
【Vivino 4.0】
ZTF168 - Domaine de Thalabert Paul Jaboulet Crozes Hermitage 2015
Special price: $350/bottle
Producing area/level: France/ Rhone Valley/ Crozes Hermitage
Grape variety: 100% Syrah
Alcohol content: 13.5% vol
Volume: 750ml
Domaine de Thalabert has belonged to Maison Paul Jaboulet Aine since 1834. Crozes Hermitage wine is made from grapes from vines 40-60 years old, hand-picked and carefully brewed using traditional methods. The maceration lasts for 3 weeks. Aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, 20% new. Classic blackberry and cassis fruit flavors mixed with plenty of peppery herbs, earth and pepper, olive aromas. Full-bodied, with excellent concentration and ripe tannins.
【Vinous 94 pts】
Inky ruby. Suave, mineral-accented scents of ripe blueberry, black currant and Indian spices, along with a slowly emerging floral component. Plushbroad and deeply concentrated, displaying black and blue fruit, licorice and mocha flavors that are energized by an intense, peppery overtone. Finishes extremely long, fleshy and sweet, delivering intense mineral thrust, a subtle cracked pepper nuance and youthful, building tannins.
【Wine Advocate 93+ pts】
The 2015 Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert is a super effort, packed with savory notes of black olives and crushed stones. It's full-bodied and rich, with a hint of cedary oak, but there's plenty of fruit and ripe tannins on the lingering finish. Like some of those fine Thalabert vintages of the past, it should drink well for a couple of decades.
【 James Suckling 93 pts】
Smooth, impressive flesh and weight. Graphite-like stony minerally aromas with dark cherries and darker plums, the oak adding cedary woody notes. The palate has an impressive plushness as well as assertive tannins below. Extremely defined, pure and attractive. A great vintage. Best from 2019 and for a decade at least.
【Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine 】
Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine is the most famous and representative winery in the Rhone Valley of France. It was founded by Mr. Antoine Jaboulet in 1834 and has now developed into a super winery with hundreds of hectares of vineyards and an annual production of nearly 4 million bottles of wine. Domaine Paul Jaboulet originated from the Hermitage Mountains. In 1834, Mr. Antoine began to devote himself to planting grapes in this area, and since then he has linked his life with this land. With his passion for winemaking and unremitting efforts, the quality of the wine produced by the winery became more and more excellent, and it continued to his sons Paul and Henri. Paul even added his own name "Paul" to the name of the winery, and the name Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine has been used until now. After that, the Jaboulet family continued to operate the winery and maintain the high standards of the winery until 2006 when the Frey family acquired part of the management rights of the winery. The Frey family has long served as winemakers in the Champagne region and is the owner of Chateau La Lagune in Bordeaux.
The vineyards of Domaine Jaboulet in Hermitage are located on terraces at an altitude of 130 to 250 meters. The soil in the lower part is sand, gravel and gravel, and the higher part is brown soil and rocky soil. The vineyard covers an area of only 26 hectares. In addition to 5 hectares of white grape varieties, the red grapes are only planted in 21 hectares, scattered around the small church at the top of the Hermitage Hill. 6,000 Syrah vines are planted per hectare, with an average age of 45 years, and 3,000 liters of wine per hectare. Not only grapes are planted on the Hermitage Hill, but also cherries, pears and other fruits are planted in the same proportion. Planting fruits around the vineyard often gives the grapes the aroma of the same fruits. In 1919, the Hermitage La Chapelle winery bought the Hermitage La Chapelle, and its top red wine, the Hermitage La Chapelle red wine, has been listed as one of the most outstanding red wines in the world. The wine is made from 100% Syrah and aged in oak barrels for 18 months. It is known as a model wine with extraordinary quality and amazing potential of Rhone Valley Syrah. Only 2,500 bottles of Gabrielle Cathedral Wine are produced each year, and it is said that the quota for the Asian market is only 400 bottles. The wine was discontinued in 1961 and was produced again after 2006.
Gabrielle Winery adheres to the rigorous winemaking tradition and strictly controls the production of large wineries. The output per hectare does not exceed 4,000 liters, and each gardener carefully cares for no more than 2.5 hectares of vineyards, which is three times less than ordinary vineyards. In addition, the unique long neck, dark color and calm design of the wine bottle enable the wine quality to be preserved for a longer time. Gabrielle Winery wine is now exported to more than 70 countries. High-quality grapes and exquisite brewing technology have created elegant but affordable wines, which perfectly present the full, strong and rich and varied characteristics of the Rhone Valley wine. Gabrielle Winery hollowed out a 20-meter-high hill into a 10-meter-high hole as a natural wine cellar, which is unique. Not only is the temperature naturally low here, but the stalactites in the cave are staggered, which is a feast for the eyes.
Domaine de Thalabert is located in the flatter area of Crozes Hermitage and is the oldest vineyard in the region. The estate covers an area of 40 hectares, and the surface is mainly alluvial stones; these small and round stones can absorb heat during the day and dissipate heat at night, allowing the grapes to mature more perfectly. Winemaker Caroline regards the vineyard as a complete "bear system". In order to maintain biodiversity, she resolutely does not use fertilizers and herbicides, uses natural plants and animals as soil fertilizers, and manages the vineyard forever. Currently, both Hermitage and Crozes Hermitage regions use biodynamic planting. The whole process is hand-picked, and the single chamber is gently extracted after four weeks of fermentation. Aged in 15% new French oak barrels.
