2017 Paul Jaboulet Aine Les Jalets Crozes Hermitage 750 ml

After our trip to Paul Jaboulet Aîné’s iconic vineyards and sterling winemaking facilities, we tasted at Le Vineum, Jaboulet’s tiny wine bar in Tain l’Hermitage. Wine after wine wowed us, but perhaps the biggest revelation came when we tasted their Les Jalets Crozes Hermitage. Made from vines in their profound Domaine de Thalabert site, which is one of the great open secrets in the Rhône, from granite soils that impart distinctly Hermitage-esque qualities to the finished wines.

Jaboulet is an icon of the northern Rhône, and this wine shares significant DNA with their famous $185 La Chappelle bottling, which inspires a rush of collectors on release every year. It’s got plenty of the signature dark fruit, black pepper, and dusty herbs that make the Syrah from this corner of France so unique.

The 2017 merited a 92-point review from Decanter for its “serious, but smooth and supple, and ever so easy to drink” personality. That combination of approachability with a strong regional style is what made us fall in love—and what makes it so unusual in the world of Rhône Syrah.

Jaboulet is a mixture of the ancient and the modern: Just over a decade ago, the domaine was purchased by the Frey family, who have labored meticulously to elevate the estate. They’ve modernized the winemaking and converted some of the domaine’s most famed parcels to organic viticulture.

The result is a historic house that’s in a modern golden age, and no wine showcases that more than Les Jalets. Anyone who loves—or is interested in—Rhône Syrah should stock their cellar accordingly.