Aerian, precise, another sign that the cooler vintages are often where La Chapelle shines, spiralling out these violet, crushed roses and peony aromatics. It's a little reserved at first, but makes it worth the wait. Red cherry and cranberry fruits, vivid and fragrant raspberry leaf, soft extraction. No longer external consultant at this point, with winemaking by Caroline Frey and her team. Exceptional quality, and a soaring example of Syrah brilliance.

A gorgeous intensity of plum, spice and grilled meat on the nose. Cloves and hints of dried spices. This is a big, structured La Chappelle. Full and powerful with chewy tannins and a long, long finish. A bit austere and muscular but gorgeous. Tar, spice, dried meat and asphalt. Needs to be aged for at least another five or six years. This is another 1991 in the making.

The 2011 Hermitage la Chapelle continues to shine (I wrote "love it" in the notes) and shows the sunnier, perfumed style of the vintage. Black raspberry, crushed rocks, olive and licorice all emerge from this full-bodied, open, sweetly fruited Hermitage. It has plenty of sweet tannin and will last for 20+ years.

The 2011 Hermitage La Chapelle represents about one-third of the production. It could turn out to be a modern day replay of the 1991. Aged in small oak (around one-third to one-half new), this wine comes from the estate’s extensive holdings in Le Meal as well as smaller holdings in Les Bessards and Les Rocoules. It boasts a dense purple color along with a big, sweet nose of graphite, licorice, forest floor, pepper, blackberries and hints of smoked duck and charcuterie. Pure and full-bodied with supple tannins and a more evolved, precocious style than the blockbuster 2010, the 2011 should drink well in 4-5 years and last for 20-25. Readers should not forget the southern Rhone offerings from Paul Jaboulet-Aine that I reviewed in Issue #203 (October, 2012), especially such terrific values as the 2010 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Plan de Dieu Domaine Pere et Fille and the resurrected Chateauneuf du Papes, the 2010 Domaine de Terre Ferme. The Northern Rhone wines reviewed herein reflect the emphasis on building domaine names while not forsaking the negociant wines. The wines reviewed in this report are only the domaine wines where the Paul Jaboulet firm owns the vineyards and harvests the grapes. In Cornas, the Jaboulets own the highly regarded Domaine de St.-Pierre. A second wine, the Hermitage La Petite Chapelle, is now made in order to increase the quality of Jaboulet’s flagship offering, the Hermitage La Chapelle. As for the Hermitage La Chapelle, recent vintages (starting with 2009) have been the greatest wines made at this estate since one of the all-time classics, the 1990. There was no 2011 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Roure declared. The white wines from Paul Jaboulet-Aine have also jumped in quality. Keep in mind that the proprietors, the Frey family, not only own Chateau La Lagune in Bordeaux, but are also major stockholders in the impressive Champagne firm of Billecart-Salmon. The 2010 whites all performed well. They are slightly less evolved and precocious than the 2011s, and possess a slightly greater degree of the crushed rock minerality than one finds in the more fruit-driven 2011s. Importer: Frederick Wildman, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

Beef juice, black cherry, finely chewy tannins, moderate acid, touches of animal aromas. Quite mild-mannered, not sure it has all the expected grandness of Hermitage. (RH)