Paul Jaboulet-Aîné : La Maison Bleue 2019

Jaboulet-Aîné signs a full and structured Hermitage wine

The property

Paul Jaboulet-Aîné is an iconic name of the great wines of the Northern Rhône Valley. It was founded in 1834 in Tain L'Hermitage. The renowned oenologist and winemaker Caroline Frey runs this illustrious house, owned by the Frey family since 2006. The Maison Paul Jaboulet Aîné looks after 125 hectares of vineyards, spread over exceptional appellations such as Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Cornas, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu or Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise.

The vineyard

A place of work, rest and sharing between winegrowers, this house with its blue shutters is full of history. Located in the heart of the Hermitage vineyard, it is still used today to dry the plants used for the biodynamic preparations but also the straw wine. Paul Jaboulet-Aîné's 2019 Maison Bleue comes from terroirs on the eastern side of the Hermitage hill. The 40 to 60 year old vines are planted deep on low stony, low slope soils.

The vintage

The dry winter did not make up for the water stress recorded since 2018. The milder conditions from February onwards favoured an early bud break, but this progress was slowed down by the drop in temperatures at the end of March - beginning of April. Flowering started around June 7th and took place in very good conditions. The hail storm of June 15th slowed down the development of the vines. The summer conditions were scorching. The rigourous work of the estate's team throughout this vintage allowed us to harvest healthy grapes of great quality.

Vinification and maturation

Harvested by hand, the grapes are sorted by plot. Vatting time of about 4 weeks with soft extractions. The wine is aged in French oak barrels, 20% of which are new.

The blend

Paul Jaboulet-Aîné's 2019 Maison Bleue is a 100% syrah.

Guard

Paul Jaboulet-Aîné's 2019 Maison Bleue can wait in the cellar until 2044 to express its full aromatic range.