2016 Paul Jaboulet Aine La Maison Bleue Hermitage 750 ml

Few names stand out in wine like Paul Jaboulet Aîné, the house that rules the Rhône as king of the hill. You can feel it standing by the little chapel, overlooking the stepped vines that make Jaboulet’s famed La Chapelle—this is the birthplace of one of the world’s greatest wines. 

We first sipped the 2016 La Maison Bleue, formerly called Petit Chapelle, on a visit a couple of years ago when the wine was still a baby, still coming into its own. Even then, our noses deep in our glasses, we knew we were experiencing something extraordinary.

Now this wine has absolutely blossomed. And we think it represents one of the world’s greatest values.

Over the course of a century, this maison transformed Hermitage, in the Northern Rhône, from a forgotten granite slab into the most riveting 345 acres in the region. One blockbuster Syrah after another from climats like La Méal and Les Bessards have made this the stuff of collectors' dreams. And over the last 15 years, winemaker Caroline Frey has driven Jaboulet ever higher. 

The 2016 La Maison Bleue is an unforgettable expression of spicy, seductive, perfectly wild Syrah—a classic for the ages. 

Jeb Dunnuck raved: “ripe, sexy” and “beautifully pure.” Vinous said it’s “vivid” with an “energetic finish.” The wine earned four separate scores between 93 and 95 points, including from Suckling and from Parker’s Wine Advocate. 

Let’s be clear, the wine ranks among the true elite. It’s a highlight at Alchemist, Copenhagen’s Michelin two-star standout, where it’ll set you back more than €1500. 

Frey and her father took over the maison in 2006, from the Jaboulet family, who at that time had all but walked away from their 170-year legacy. Paul Jaboulet Aîné has since rocketed into the stratosphere, fueled by the Freys’ skill and fortune. 

Skill in the form of Caroline’s unmatched expertise and her experience running top houses in both Bordeaux (Ch. La Lagune) and Champagne (Billecart-Salmon). Fortune in the form of the Hermitage’s two greatest vintages in more than a generation—2015 and 2016.  

The “awesome purity” and “sweet tannin” of these 2016s has left critics like Jeb Dunnuck salivating since the wines first hit tasting tables three years ago. 

Josh Raynolds of Vinous compared this vintage to Burgundy—a leaner, fresher and more elegant style that “the old-timers will tell you is the quality that made the appellation’s name and reputation in the first place.” For less than a hundred bucks, the 2016 La Maison Bleue represents a rare window of opportunity to taste your way into Jaboulet’s legendary past, very much alive today.