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Matt Walls: Tasting Jaboulet La Chapelle from 1991 to 2019

In his first column of 2021, our Rhône correspondent Matt Walls tastes eight different La Chapelle vintages from between 1991 and 2019 and reports on the variability and evolution of one of the Rhone Valley’s most iconic wines.

The tiny chapel of St Christopher, perched on top of the mighty hill of Hermitage, is illuminated by spotlights at night. Surrounded by darkness, when you glimpse it from the town of Tain below, it appears to hover in the night sky like a celestial body. This is the shrine that gives Jaboulet’s historic wine, La Chapelle, its name.

It’s no exaggeration to say that this wine can represent one of the most captivating and complex wines of the Rhône Valley. The 1961 La Chapelle has occasionally been described as one of the greatest wines ever made, and is now one of the most expensive.

At London’s Hedonism Wines, it sells for £11,800 ($15,830) – and that’s for a half bottle.


Scroll down for Matt Walls’ Jaboulet La Chapelle tasting notes and scores



Matt Walls’ Jaboulet La Chapelle tasting notes and scores


More articles by Matt Walls:

Matt Walls’ top 10 Rhône wines of 2020

Tasting Domaine les Cailloux’s Cuvée Centenaire from 1989-2016

Tasting Domaine Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Ampodium 2008-2012

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