The 1961 Jaboulet Hemitage is a legendary wine, a red that I have only tasted twice in my life. And something that I always wished to taste again. I had it last night against the 1959. It was amazing. It tasted 30 years younger. Deep ruby with aromas of spices, pepper, chocolate and balsamic, it was claret-like with full fruit and refined tannins. It lasted for minutes on the palate. 100 points. No problem. The 1959 was also impressive but less opulent with a citric note. It was drinking perfectly now and resembled a mature Burgundy than a Rhone at this stage of its evolution. 93 points

I love these notes. I'm a big fan of La Chapelle, but have not had any from vintages prior to 1978. I've brought magnums of the 1982 and 1985 to offlines with members of this forum. I remember when La Chapelle used to be an inexpensive wine. The best I've ever had was the 1979, followed closely by the 1978 and 1985. Since I'll never have the 1959 or 1961 I really appreciate reading about them in your notes.

quote:

Originally posted by James Suckling:
The 1961 Jaboulet Hemitage is a legendary wine.... Deep ruby with aromas of spices, pepper, chocolate and balsamic.... 100 points.

James, it's great to see you posting hear over the last few days.

In your tasting note you detect balsamic aromas and give the wine 100 points. Whenever I've seen James Laube mention balsamic in his reviews, he seems to be citing its presence as some sort of flaw (volatile acidity, I assume).

I'd love to hear your views on:
1) Are balsamic aromas indicative of V.A.?
2) Is detectable V.A. considered a flaw in any amount or only in large quantity?

James

This is a great TN comparison - we are getting tasting notes on mature vintages of spectacular wines FOC! It makes a nice change to read about wines that are worthy of their ratings after more than 40 yrs in bottle rather than hearing about infant wines that have received good ratings after only a couple of years in bottle (DRAB - I hope you are jealous).

I've only ever had the '95 La Chappelle and it was so unready to drink. Thankfully, I have another bottle in cellar, ageing gracefully.

Keep on posting.

BirD

James:

I am curious; you have given us some amazing insights on some amazing wines that you have tasted recently in your day to day travels. Is the wine tasting/rating process any different for these wines then say trying a flight of Barolo for a future article or 50 Bordeaux out of barrel for your barrel scores? In other words do you use the same critical eye (actually tongue) for all your wine tasting experiences? Or do you sometimes "give it a rest"?

Thanks for all the wonderful posts, YOU DA MAN!

OK, James, here's my beef. There are some, nay, the vast majority of us, who might never get the chance to taste a $500, 50-year-old wine. How about mixing it up with some of your QPR favorites?

(Really, though, thanks for the tasting notes.)

Guys, don't ask JS too many questions.
Just enjoy reading his amazing notes.