2010 Paul Jaboulet Aine ‘La Chapelle’ Hermitage

ST96-98 Opaque purple.  Heady, intensely perfumed aromas of candied blueberry, cherry and violet, with a wild array of spice and herb qualities adding complexity.  Cassis, bitter cherry and floral pastille flavors stain the palate, with a vibrant mineral nuance providing lift.  Closes with superb energy and cut, leaving floral, spice and blue fruit notes behind.  

 

WA97+ The inky colored 2010 Hermitage la Chapelle is a blockbuster in the making, but is certainly not for those craving instant gratification. Massively concentrated and dense, it offers sensational minerality to go with tons of dark fruits, bacon, black olive, beef blood and graphite. Building in the glass and showing more and more mid-palate density and serious amounts of tannin, this serious, chiseled and structured Hermitage needs to be forgotten for another decade.