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he final auction before Christmas put together by Sotheby's wine team in London opens with a very special consignment, direct from the cellars of Paul Jaboulet Aîné, in celebration of this year’s 100th anniversary of their flagship Hermitage La Chapelle cuvée. Following Jaboulet’s special consignment, we present a handful of top drawer private collections, with an especially notable depth of DRC, Petrus and Mouton Rothschild on offer.
Founded nearly 200 years ago, in 1834, by Antoine Jaboulet, what began as a small domaine and négociant business has now been transformed into one of the Rhône region’s leading lights.
Hermitage La Chapelle, the jewel in the crown of Jaboulet’s domaine, is named after the small chapel of St Christopher that sits at the top of the Hermitage hill, above the town of Tain. According to legend, the chapel was built by an injured knight returning from the Crusades in the 13th century, who decided to live out his days there as a hermit, calling the chapel his home and so giving his name to the hill that has latterly become famous for producing one of the most fabled wines in the world.
The collection released to mark this special occasion - comprised of bottles, magnums and extraordinarily-rare larger formats - is made up of the very best vintages from the last 72 years that together, truly represent two golden eras for La Chapelle. Here, George Lacey runs us through just a few of the dozens of highlights to be found in this exciting sale.
Aged Syrah in great condition is a truly singular wine experience, with the best examples of Hermitage La Chapelle from the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s, rivalling any great First Growth Bordeaux for complexity and longevity. We are therefore extremely lucky to have such a wealth of amazing old vintages here, including this iconic and famous 1961.
'Aged Syrah in great condition is a truly singular wine experience'
The older vintages from 1949 to 1991 were all re-corked at the winery recently, between 2016 and 2021, and any topping up was done with the exact same vintage. Furthermore, every bottle was individually tasted by the winemaker during this process, and only if it was in excellent condition was it recorked and released. Bottles of La Chapelle from such iconic old vintages, in such beautiful condition, do not present themselves too often, so we’d highly recommend you take a look at these!
Jaboulet’s wines experienced a truly golden era with the great Hermitage vintages of the 1940s through to the 1980s. Following the acquisition of the domaine by the Frey family in 2006, under Caroline Frey’s stewardship the wines have been taken to hitherto unexplored heights, and numerous modern legends have been created.
'The wines being produced at Jaboulet now will, we are certain, turn out to be amongst the best ever produced at the domaine'
The wines being produced at Jaboulet now will, we are certain, turn out to be amongst the best ever produced at the domaine, and this 2019, the centenary release of La Chapelle, is no exception. Could this be the next 1961? Acquire this lot, with its range of unbelievably rare double magnum, imperial and Salmanazar formats, and follow it over the coming decades to find out!
Click here to view all Paul Jaboulet Aîné wines available for immediate purchase.
The superstitious amongst the wine-collecting community believe that great Bordeaux vintages come in pairs. 2009 and 2010, 2015 and 2016, and most definitely 1989 and 1990. Of these two vintages, whether 1989 or 1990 is superior depends very much on which commune you’re in. However, one thing that there is a general consensus on is that, for Pomerol, 1989 is truly legendary, and the star of the two.
'This is surely one of the dream wines for any Pomerol lover, amongst the greatest, richest and most complex Petrus that has ever been made, and that’s saying something!'
To have not one, not two, but three pristine 6-bottle OWCs of 1989 Petrus in this sale is therefore unbelievably exciting. This is surely one of the dream wines for any Pomerol lover, amongst the greatest, richest and most complex Petrus that has ever been made, and that’s saying something!
Click here to view all Pétrus wines available for immediate purchase.
What is there that we can possibly say about Mouton Rothschild 1945? Ask any collector in the world to name “the greatest wine ever made”, and 1945 Mouton will feature heavily. It’s not just about what’s in the bottle when it comes to this wine, though the liquid is without doubt one of the greatest clarets ever produced, but also the circumstances under which this remarkable wine was produced, and everything it stands for.
'Very rarely in my career have I seen bottles in such stunning condition'
The lucky collector who gets their hands on these bottles will be drinking a slice of history. A wine that surely has the capacity to age for up to a century, this is truly extraordinary, and very rarely in my career have I seen bottles in such stunning condition. This special pair was examined, re-conditioned and authenticated by the Estate in 2019, and must be the best bottles on the market in the world right now.
Click here to view all Mouton Rothschild wines available for immediate purchase.
Six bottle, original cases of any of the Domaine’s wines are becoming pretty difficult to find these days. With most of the modern vintages released as assortment cases or, at most, packs of three bottles, the allure of these original cases, especially for DRC’s top cuvées, is growing day by day. A vintage such as 2002, whose reds have turned out to be amongst the best of that decade, only adds further to that appeal!
' This is a wine that should not be missing from any great Burgundy collection'
La Tâche, of course, is one of the world’s truly great vineyard sites, a remarkable Grand Cru monopole that sits near the top of DRCs qualitative pyramid, eclipsed perhaps only by the Romanée-Conti monopole itself. One of the world’s most complex and long-lived Pinot Noirs, this is a wine that should not be missing from any great Burgundy collection. Mature, six bottle original cases of 2002 La Tâche with such perfect provenance will not present themselves very often… Don’t miss out!
Click here to view all D.R.C. wines available for immediate purchase.
