Hermitage La Chapelle, Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine 2011

A gorgeous intensity of plum, spice and grilled meat on the nose. Cloves and hints of dried spices. This is a big, structured La Chappelle. Full and powerful with chewy tannins and a long, long finish. A bit austere and muscular but gorgeous. Tar, spice, dried meat and asphalt. Needs to be aged for at least another five or six years. This is another 1991 in the making.

More dense, concentrated and structured, the knockout 2011 Hermitage La Chapelle, which comes mostly from the warmer, Le Meal lieu-dit, is up with the top 7-8 wines in the vintage. Offering up layers of black raspberry, powdered rock, chocolate, roasted meats and graphite, it flows onto the palate with full-bodied richness, solid mid-palate depth and masses of fine tannin that are sweet and polished. Reasonably approachable given the wealth of fruit and texture, it should nevertheless be given a handful of years in the cellar. It should have 20+ years of total longevity.