2015 Paul Jaboulet Aine Ventoux

2015 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Ventoux

Who:  Antoine Jaboulet

What: 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah

Where: Ventoux, Southern Rhone, France

Tastes like: Silky red fruits, with a white pepper and jammy quality.  

What to pair with: Governatore Pizza, lighter meat dishes, spaghetti all’amatrciana

The Who: In 1834, a full 100 years before the introduction of the A.O.C. system, Antoine Jaboulet began to transform a sleepy region into one of the most important quality winegrowing terroirs in the world. Since that time, Paul Jaboulet Aîné has become the benchmark in the Southern Rhône, with the iconic Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’ being responsible for some of the greatest wines ever produced.

Ten years ago, the Frey family purchased this historic property and committed tremendous effort and resources to improve upon the already legendary estate. They immediately started converting the estate vineyards to biodynamic principles and encouraging sustainable practices from every family grower they work with. With each successive vintage the purifying effects of these natural agricultural improvements can be felt and tasted. This is one of France’s finest estates, the crown jewel of the Rhône Valley. Oenologist and proprietor Caroline Frey, alongside Winemaking Director Jacques Desvernois, are producing the authentic standard for quality Syrah across the Northern Rhône.

The What:

Grenache, or as it’s known by its Spanish name, Garnacha, is one of the most widely planted red grapes in the world. The Garnacha grape was born in the northern region of Spain known as Aragon. There, the grape began to be cultivated and was originally used for both single varietal wines as well as for blending. It was not long before the grape made it’s way over the border to France and found yet another home in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of Southern France. From there the grape became widely known as Grenache.

In the Southern Rhone, French winemakers were looking for a grape that could be blended with the other famous varieties of the region. The grape they sought would add body, alcohol and fruity flavors to their wines. They found that grape in Grenache and it was there that the famous, and highly collectible, Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine blend was born.

Syrah is one of the darkest red wines on the market. It carries a large amount of mouth-drying tannins, and is known to be rather full-bodied.

There are several myths associated with the emergence of Syrah — one involves a Roman Emperor planting the grape in France in 280 A.D. and another involves a winemaker from Iran, where legend says the grape was actually born, bringing the vines with him to France in 600 B.C. where he settled in Marseilles. No matter how the grape actually arrived in France, suffice it to say, it has been there for a long time, and France is the country that made it famous.

Syrah came to prominence in the eighteenth century in the Rhone Valley of France. While many other regions of the country were busy making blends containing several different red grapes, the Northern Rhone set upon creating a red wine solely from Syrah. It was there in the town of Hermitage that Syrah became famous, and still today Syrah from this town fetches some of the highest prices in the world.

The Where: Located 25 miles (40km) northeast of Avignon, in the far southeast of the country, Mont Ventoux looks down over the wine-producing areas of the Rhone Valley to the west and Provence to the south and east. On the western slopes and foothills of this iconic mountain, in an area roughly 30 miles (50km) from north to south and covering 51 parishes, are the vineyards of the Cotes du Ventoux appellation.

Wines have been made here since the 1st Century AD and have been consumed by popes and kings throughout the centuries. The official AOC Cotes du Ventoux appellation was created just before the harvest of 1973, for the red, white and rosé wines of the area.

The style of these wines varies dependent on the combination of grape varieties and the terroir from which they originate. The style is overall one of lighter, fruit-driven wines, reflecting the increased altitude and slightly cooler microclimates that the Ventoux slopes provide.