2018 Paul Jaboulet Aine Secret de Famille Cotes du Rhone 750 ml

Paul Jaboulet Aîné has produced some of the most collector-worthy bottles from Hermitage. They’ve crafted 100-pointers. They’ve been called a benchmark, an icon, and just about every other superlative in the book.

And THIS is their wine that locals buy up with abandon. 

We discovered this wine on a summer trip to the Northern Rhône. We were at Le Vineum, the wine bar that belongs to iconic producer Paul Jaboulet Aîné, and had just finished small pours of their iconic Hermitage and Les Cèdres Châteauneuf-du-Pape. As we lingered, our hosts poured us full glasses of the Secret de Famille to go with our meal, and even after their marquee wines, the Grenache-based blend left us impressed. 

But when we asked to add the wine to our order, we were politely informed that it wasn’t exported to the US.We were told in person, on the phone, and via email that their velvety, deliciously dense Secret de Famille never leaves Europe, but we were undeterred. That’s how determined we were to share it with you.

The Secret de Famille is the culmination of proprietor and winemaker Caroline Frey’s in-depth exploration of the Jaboulet family’s history. When her family purchased the famed house in 2006, she went over notes and records dating back over a century and decided to honor the winery’s heritage with a traditional Southern Rhône blend. She sourced from 35-year-old vines, opting for a concrete fermentation to maintain the fruit focus, an extended maceration to give the tannins a balancing grip, and an oak foudre aging treatment to accentuate the wine’s spice notes.