Hermitage La Chapelle 2011

Remarkably mature already, this has an earthy side to its dense black fruits, with a touch of sweet leaf mulch. It's very full-bodied, lush and thick, with piercing acidity and noticeable alcohol. It leans towards overextraction in 2011 and certainly makes an impression.

Score: 92

Decanter, Decanter.com Maturity: 2019 - 2030 17 June 2019

More dense, concentrated and structured, the knockout 2011 Hermitage La Chapelle, which comes mostly from the warmer, Le Meal lieu-dit, is up with the top 7-8 wines in the vintage. Offering up layers of black raspberry, powdered rock, chocolate, roasted meats and graphite, it flows onto the palate with full-bodied richness, solid mid-palate depth and masses of fine tannin that are sweet and polished. Reasonably approachable given the wealth of fruit and texture, it should nevertheless be given a handful of years in the cellar. It should have 20+ years of total longevity. Since 2006, owner Caroline Frey has been steadily pushing for increased quality at this historic estate. Moving all of the vineyards to sustainable farming (which takes years to see benefits), both the vineyard and cellar staff have been doubled. In addition, a new gravity operated cellar was set up in 2010. All of this shows, and across the board, the wines have impeccably made, clean and pure profiles. Looking at the individual Northern Rhône appellations, this estate produces four Hermitage (La Chapelle, La Chapelle Blanc, Le Petite Chapelle and Les Chevalier de Stérimberg), four Crozes Hermitage (Domaine de Thalabert, Domaine Mule Blanche, Domaine de Roure and Domaine de Roure Blanc), one Côte Rôtie (Domaine des Pierrelles), one Cornas (Domaine de Saint Pierre), one Saint Joseph (Domaine de la Croix des Vignes) and one Condrieu (Domaine des Grands Amandiers). Looking at 2011, Caroline stated that it was easy to get ripeness, and harvest was early to avoid heat stress on the grapes. Of the three most recent vintages (2011, 2012 and 2013), 2011 had the highest yields, with both 2012 and 2013 seeing a significant drop. I was able to taste a number of these wines twice, once in a larger lineup covering the individual appellations, and again at a tasting at the domaine, with Caroline and oenologist Jacques Desvernois.

Score: 95

Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2015-2035+ 01 December 2013

(made from yields that ranged from 10 to 19 hectoliters per hectare, according to Caroline Frey): Inky ruby. Heady aromas of candied dark berries, incense, violet and licorice, with a smoky topnote that gains strength with aeration. Offers sweet, palate-staining blueberry and cherry-cola flavors that are lifted and sharpened by juicy acidity. Broad, supple and spicy on the finish, which features youthfully chewy tannins and sexy floral pastille and spicecake nuances. This wine is one of the standouts of the vintage in the entire Rhone Valley this vintage. (If you're fortunate enough to own any of the 2010 La Chapelle count your blessings because it's a stunner. While it's years--maybe even decades--away from optimal drinking, there's remarkable depth and power to its black and blue fruit and violet pastille qualities. There are tannins, to be sure, but they fold effortlessly into the wine's lush fruit right now. If you have a few bottles in your cellar, give one a try to see just how impressively it shows in its youth, then hold the rest for later--probably much later.)

Score: 94

Josh Raynolds, Vinous.com 01 March 2014