Jaboulet La Chapelle 1978 (750ML)

100 RP / 100 WA / 100 JS

Opaque plum/garnet-colored, with a fabulously sweet, youthful bouquet of licorice, incense, smoked meats, pepper, and blackberry/cassis fruit, the full-bodied 1978 La Chapelle is extremely young with astonishing vigor, velvety tannin, and a full-bodied, multi-dimensional, layered personality. The finish lasts for over 60 seconds. Remarkably fresh and not yet fully mature, the super-concentrated 1978 should continue to age well for another three decades. Anticipated maturity: now-2030 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

As heavenly and profound as it gets, the still youthful-colored 1978 Hermitage la Chapelle exhibits an insane bouquet of sweet cassis, truffle, smoked meats and licorice. Full-bodied, multidimensional, decadent and massive on the palate, with a stacked mid-palate and still present, sweet tannin, it tastes like a mix of the more fruit-loaded '90 and the more evolved, smoky and soy-laced '61. You could easily run out of adjectives describing this beauty, but it's a perfect wine any way you look at it. I see no reason to hold off, and it's drinking perfectly for my palate today, but it certainly won't fall off a cliff anytime soon. Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate

Last year I visited Paul Jaoulet A¨ne, and I came away very impressed with the way the estate is headed. After a period of decline in quality, under new ownership the wines are becoming more and more suggestive of older, outstanding vintages. You can view the full report I wrote here, but I thought Id share a further perfect wine Ò the 1978 La Chapelle. Today the wine shows an almost smokey character on the nose with so many dried plums, pepper and meat. The palate, meanwhile, is incredibly supple with round and velvety tannins and wondrous, sexy fruit. Unquestionably a perfect wine. 100 points - James Suckling, March 2015