Hermitage, "La Chappelle", Jaboulet Aine 1999
Many of my wine professional friends call "La Chappelle" shit: spoofilated, bastardized, garbage. Maybe they really mean to compliment what the wine once was, because wow, it really was good. And while I agree that Chappelle is not what it used to be, I don't find it undrinkable.
Smells of waxy crayola crayon with brined olive and some faint citrus zest. Thin fruit aromas, not distinct enough to hint at a vintage, but not unlike what one would expect from Hermitage. With air it develops a thickness: herbal and very waxy - a touch of alcohol. Not complex, but certainly correct and without the smell of gourmet enzymes, toasty wood or fancy yeast.
The palate never really develops - It feels somewhat expensive but with angular unresolved tannin. The texture is flat and suggests more maturity than its age. It's good wine. But its not great wine. Maybe not even very good wine. When I think of the name "La Chappelle" its merely ok.
This note reminds me of the '99 Jasmin Cote Rotie I wrote about a while back. Like the '99 Jasmin (which is a truly spoofilated mess) the "Chappelle" is very vintage specific. I don't like the '99's. They are bland with characterless fruit. I don't believe the tannins will ever resolve. The best have moderate balance and are unoffensive; the worst are tannic, alcoholic and roasted. I'll take the greenish '97's and the soft '98's.
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