Paul Jaboulet Hermitage 'La Chapelle' 1995 (Damaged Labels)

Jaboulet's Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’ – named after the tiny hermit's chapel built by returning crusader Gaspard de Stérimberg in 1235 – stakes a claim for many as the quintessential French Syrah. As Jancis Robinson has noted, it’s a bottle for which practically every wine lover has a story to tell.

The success of ‘La Chapelle’ over the years can be charted directly with the highs and lows of the domaine itself. Under Louis (from 1935) and then his son Gérard (from 1977 until 1997), Jaboulet was the Rhône yardstick ¬– from négociant cuvées in Côte-Rôtie in the north to Châteauneuf in the south, as well as its famous Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage domaine bottlings.

An excellent vintage for the northern Rhône, Jaboulet’s 1995 ‘La Chapelle’ – packed with gamey fruit and smoked meat, as well as savoury spice and earth – is a fitting tribute to mark the end of Jaboulet’s 'golden era'.

(Please note although the labels are worn, the fill levels are excellent.)