La Chapelle – no 2008

In a move that is unlikely to make her many friends among other producers of Hermitage, Caroline Frey, Paul Jaboulet Aîné's winemaker and daughter of the owner, has decided not to produce a 2008 vintage of the company's famous flagship Hermitage La Chapelle, new label shown here.

'La Chapelle has to be not just good or very good. It has to be exceptional', she told me. 'In 2008 conditions were very difficult in the Rhône Valley. It was the rainiest year in 30 years, particularly marked by a true deluge on the hill of Hermitage at the beginning of September...