Hermitage Blanc Chevalier De Sterimberg

Navarin of lobster with young vegtables, roasted kid with hone and confit pears or scallops with leak fondu

After the heavy rain of autumn 2014, winter frosts purify the vineyards. In springtime, the heat combined with waterlogged soils results in fast vegetative growth. The flowering starts early, on May 18th and takes place in a very short time. Summer is hot and verasion which begins on July 18th two weeks early. The balance is perfect and the harvest starts at optimal ripeness, on August 28th for the white grapes and on September 7th for the red grapes. The mid-September rains allow the tannins to refine still further and this exceptional harvest ends on September 25th picking the last bunches on the Hermitage Hill.

Following alcoholic fermentation in oak casks and concrete egg-shaped tanks, the lees are regularly brought back into suspension through stirring over the 8 to 10-month ageing process providing the wines with elegant and complex aromas.

The grapes are harvested by hand into small, 15kg crates, then pressed straight away so as to minimize any risk of oxidation. The wines are then vinified traditionally in oak and stainless steel tanks.

In 1834, when Antoine Jaboulet set up his business in Tain l’Hermitage with the aim of producing great wines, he saw his future profession as cultivating the vineyards and maintaining the quality of the land. It was with this mindset that he quickly acquired his first vineyards on the Hermitage slopes and the Crozes Hermitage plains. In 2006, the Freys (owners of Chateau La Lagune in Bordeaux) took over Paul Jaboulet Aine, where winemaker Caroline now works with her teams in a single-minded quest for perfection; combining cutting-edge winemaking with the scrupulous care given to vines grown in exceptional terroirs. They have since also acquired vineyards in the appellations of Cote Rotie, Condrieu and Crozes Hermitage. All estates are now certified organic and the team broadly follow bio-dynamic principles. Jaboulet’s most celebrated wine is its famed Hermitage La Chapelle, named after the chapel that overlooks this most celebrated of vineyards. Jaboulet have owned the chapel since the end of the First World War – it’s an icon of this part of the Rhone Valley and marks where the best vines are grown.