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Hermitage La Chapelle 1961

Paul Jaboulet & Âiné, Rhône, France

Paul Jaboulet & Âiné
Rhône France
  • 100
    Points
  • The 5 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 94 Pros of
    95 recommend
    this wine
381 100
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    4

  • Producer ranking ?

    1

  • Decanting time

    3h

  • When to drink

    now to 2040

  • Food Pairing

    Enjoy without food

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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Hermitage La Chapelle 1961 steals Sotheby’s London show / The trio made £25,850 and went to an Asian buyer, as did the second-best performing lot, comprised of five bottles of Henri Jayer’s 1993 Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux, which sold for £21,150.

Other top performing lots included six bottles of Jaboulet’s 1978 monopole, which sold for £10,810, and 10 bottles of 1961 Latour, selling for £10,575 – both snapped up by US buyers.

The sale ...

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The Story

In the heart of the Rhône Valley, this small chapel has become one of the world’s great historic buildings
La Chapelle, the jewel of Maison Jaboulet, has a rich and emotive history. 
During the 13th century, a knight called Gaspard de Sterimberg settled in the hills of Tain l’Hermitage with the permission of Blanche de Castille. On his return from the crusades, he sought calm and serenity and isolated himself as a hermit, hence the name of t...

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Wine Information

In 1961, the weather conditions in the Rhône valley varied a lot – a mild winter, chilly and rainy weather in June and July reduced the crop size, drought in August and a beautiful sunny September brought the rest of the grapes to full maturity. Jaboulet´s vineyards Bessard and Le Meal only yielded one-fourth of their normal crop size – around one ton per acre, but what intense and concentrated grapes were born. The total harvest of the Cote d...

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Average Bottle Price

2023 2020 2017 2015 2014 2013 2011 2010 2005 2000
16 500€ +19.8% 13 769€ +8.8% 12 655€ +27.0% 9 967€ +9.5% 9 100€ -9.6% 10 065€ -4.6% 10 552€ +18.0% 8 944€ +87.2% 4 778€ +188.7% 1 655€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Latest Pro-tasting notes

32 tasting notes

Tasting note

color

Youthful and Ruby red

ending

Endless and Extensive

flavors

Leather, Truffles, Blackberry, Coffee and Smoky

nose

Open, Rich, Complex and Fresh

recommend

Yes

taste

High in Acidity, Warming, High tannin, Complex, Perfectly balanced, Balanced, Developing, Full-bodied, Harmonious, Rich, Focused, Dry and Silky tannins

Verdict

Masterpiece and Well made

Written Notes

I thought the 1961 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle was the wine of the flight, but the Punisher had other thoughts.  I had to race through this flight actually to catch a flight, so I had to dip and dash, so to speak.  I did enough dipping to notice earth, game, bacon and the most weight in the flight.  This was thick and earthy wine, and while not the best bottle I ever remember, pretty damn good (97).

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  • 97p
Ytterligare en som jag kom att spåra blint trots att jag aldrig smakat bara läst spaltmeter om den. Jag förstår dem så håller detta som det mest monumentala som gjorts 61: I min värld är detta dock ett exempel på när de bästa europeiska vinerna kantrar över och blir så rika att de snuddar vid nya världen. Här finns ingen som helst elegans. Dock en underbar rikedom av svarta bär, lakrits, choklad, mynta och hostmedicin. Grangelik, men så väsensskild från Hermitage från Chave. Ett häftigt monster i alla händelser.
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  • 95p
In 1961, the weather conditions in the Rhône valley varied a lot – a mild winter, chilly and rainy weather in June and July reduced the crop size, drought in August and a beautiful sunny September brought the rest of the grapes to full maturity. Jaboulet´s vineyards Bessard and Le Meal only yielded one-fourth of their normal crop size – around one ton per acre, but what intense and concentrated grapes were born. Bottle was in good condition, ullage was 2 cm. Very dark and young looking colour. Sound and wide-open, leather, truffle nose. Decanted 3 hours before serving. Very rich in flavour, and what an astonishing complexity and weight it possesses. Perfect harmony and balance now, but still quite a masculine and vigorous wine – will probably last eternally. Impressive length. I was so fortunate to taste this remarkable wine again – both bottles have been real treasures.
-
  • 100p

Quite stunning. And to have such a famous wine at such an age still in the prime of life was an enormous treat. This was a bottle from the late Bill Baker's personal cellar apparently. Very dark ruby - amazing colour in a wine more than half a century old! Very meaty, round and juicy with, still, fresh  tobacco leaf aromas. It's actually rather bordeaux-like in its concentration and build but is much sweeter and richer than most claret. Long, rich, intriguing and perfect. Wonderful persistence. No sign of fading at all. I keep moving the drinking dates every time I am lucky enough to taste this great wine! 

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  • 100p
D 2 h / G 2 h Medium intense, bright, brick red colour. Pronounced nose jumps out on the face showing big and intense aromas of ripe brambles, cassis, blueberries and violets with adorable perfumey nuances. Extremely deep nose with great refinement. Medium-bodied palate is just amazing with its intensity, unbelievable freshness, fleshy fruitiness, rich but so delicate and refined tannic structure with vivid and elegant finish. Astonishing silkiness in mouthfeel, very different from the style one could expect from masculine Hermitage and especially from La Chapelle. This wine stands out from other La Chapelles as Sassicaia 1985 from the rest of the Sassiacaias. Truly a masterpiece and rarity that can be stored for extra 10-15 years, but why? There is just no excuse why this wine should be cellared any longer. Pure enjoyment right now!
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  • 99p
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Information

Origin

Hermitage, Rhône

Soil

rich and varied soils with very diverse terroirs

Age of vines

60 years

Vintage Quality

Extraordinary

Value For Money

Best buy

Investment potential

Outstanding

Fake factory

Serious

Glass time

2h

Drinking temperature

18

Other wines from this producer

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Cèdres Rouge

Côte du Rhône Parallèle 45 Blanc

Côte du Rhône Parallèle 45 Rouge

Côte-Rôtie

Côte-Rôtie Les Jumelles

Côtes du Rhône Parallèle 45

Crozes-Hermitage Blanc " Domaine Mule Blanche

Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert

Crozes-Hermitage Les Jalets Blanc

Crozes-Hermitage Les Jalets Rouge

Gigondas ‘Pierre Aiguille'

Hermitage La Chapelle Blanc

Hermitage Le Chevalier de Sterimberg

Saint-Joseph Domaine de la Croix des Vignes

Inside Information

What is the most memorable bottle of wine you've had?
'I've had so many momorable bottles of wine that it would be difficult to name a single bottle. I can, however, share one of the highs. It's a bottle of Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage 'La Chapelle' 1961, which I had in 1993 at Comme Chez Soi, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Brussels. The wine was rich and well-balanced, with finesse and compexity. It is one of the greatest wines in the world.'
NK YONG - THE SUNDAY TIMES - 26/12/2007

The colour is barely touched by age. A great bouquet of smoky violets and smoked reindeer meat. The extraordinary richness on the palate is astonishing. Sheer, rich coffee. Unparalleled glycerol. Rich leather? Black winegums and liquorice. A masterpiece of gigantic proportions.'
SERENA SUTCLIFFE, MW 09/2000


'Very fine full, vigorous mature colour. Deep right to the rim. Very lovely nose indeed. Intense and classy and rich and mellow. Marvellous complexity and depth. Very clean. Very persistent. On the palate the wine is full but very full-flavoured. Opulent. Remarkable grip. Rich. Fine acidity. Very intense. Very lovely. This has splendid class, splendid complexity and such a concentration of fruit that is very sweet on the palate. A great wine without a doubt. Still very very vigorous. Yet ripe and silky smooth. Very fine long finish. Magnificent.'
THE VINE CLIVE COATES, MW 12/1999

'Always 100 points, still 100 points. From a vintage with a minuscule crop and great summer weather through the end of the harvest. Dark at the core, it lightens at the edge to the color of prune juice. Full-bodied, it lays thick on the palate, with loads of ripe berry, plum, mineral and game character. Intense and harmonious. Should hold for years; drink through 2025.' (100)
WINE SPECTATOR 12/1999

'This is unquestionably one of the greatest wines made in the twentieth century. In the two dozen tastings where I have had the 1961 La Chapelle, I rated it 100 points twenty times. It could be mistaken for the 1961 Latour or 1961 Latour à Pomerol in a blind tasting. The opaque purple/garnet color is accompanied by spectacular aromatics representing the essence of old wine Syrah (smoked meat, pepper, hoisin sauce, and soy). As the wine sits in the glass, notions of pepper, new saddle leather, grilled meat, and awesome levels of blackberry, plum, and blak currant liqueur-like notes emerge. Extremely unctuous, with compelling concentration and purity, this full-bodied, seamless, mouthfilling 1961 is truly immortal. It still possesses a freshness and vigor that defy its nearly forty years of age. It should continue to drink well for two more decades. Prodigious stuff!' (100)
ROBERT PARKER’S – WINE ADVOCATE 06/2000

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