Jaboulet Domaine Crozes-Hermitage De Roure Blanc

You are probably familiar with the famous Syrah reds from the Northern Rhône. However, here in the southeast of France, a gentle revolution of very interesting whites has been taking place for years. Among the producers spearheading this new thing is winemaker Caroline Frey from Domaine Paul Jaboulet Ainé. Calling all white lovers! Jaboulet Domaine Crozes-Hermitage De Roure Blanc is here!

Jaboulet Domaine Crozes-Hermitage De Roure Blanc needs little introduction. We don’t need to say much about this wine since it carries the Domaine Jaboulet Ainé name, one of the leading winemakers in the A.O.C. Crozes-Hermitage which produced the Hermitage La Chapelle (named one of the twelve best wines of the 20th century). In 1996, the company expanded and took on Domaine Raymond Roure. And this is where Jaboulet Domaine Crozes-Hermitage De Roure Blanc comes from. “Only excellent grapes can produce excellent wine,” says Caroline Frey. For this very reason, the 113 hectares of this property are organically cultivated. It is curious to see how, despite having had several owners (the Frey group, the current owners, bought the property in 2006), this philosophy and approach has been in use since the very beginning. As early as 1834, its founder, Antoine Jaboulet, saw clearly that the future lay in respecting the land and the vineyard. Today this very careful work is still carried out, on the left bank of the Rhône, giving maximum respect to its granitic soil, which is much heavier, with boulders, shale and some clay patches.

Jaboulet Domaine Crozes-Hermitage De Roure Blanc is made from Marsanne, one of the area’s varieties, which has grown on old vines over 60 years old. Its high yields and its ability to adapt to low fertility soils make it a perfect variety for the area. When it comes to Jaboulet Domaine Crozes-Hermitage De Roure Blanc, the clusters are kept whole, with fermentation in oak barrels (30% of which are new). At the end of this phase, the time that Jaboulet Domaine De Roure Blanc spends in contact with the lees is key to shaping and moulding its taste and flavour along with the riddling that will take place over about nine months.

At the moment, white wines represent just 10% of the total production of the A.O.C. Crozes Hermitage. Even so, the quality far exceeds this percentage. As long as all the wines are at least as good as Jaboulet Domaine Crozes-Hermitage De Roure Blanc, there is nothing to worry about. It’s better to have a small amount of something good than lots of something bad.