13% abv, La Roche de Glun, Tain L’Hermitage, Drôme, imported by MISA Imports, Dallas, TX. Cork closure: natural. Biodynamic calendar: root day.
Jaboulet is a big house with an impressive range of wines at the higher end. I was excited to try this single-vineyard Crozes-Hermitage Blanc, a blend of 50% Marsanne and 50% Roussanne from vineyards on the “fluvio-glacial alluvial terrace, over 40 year-old vines, whole bunch pressed, partially fermented and aged in egg-shaped cement casks,” according to the back label.
More info from the family; “this wine comes from our plots called ‘Conflans’, one of the best terroirs of the Crozes-Hermitage appellation. The name of the cuvée comes from the draught animals that worked on these plots. These old vines, planted in high density, required the work of a mule, finer, much more agile and resistant than the traditional horse. These mules shaped these vines and left their mark through this slender and distinguished wine.Hand-picked in small crates. Pressing in whole bunches. After settling, fermentation in concrete eggs and oak barrels, (15% new). Ageing process on fine lees in the same containers.”
In my experience, white wines from the Rhône can be pure poetry in some cases, but they can also be flabby and undistinguished as simple as mere rosewater or chamomile tea. The ‘Mule Blanche’ proved a nice middle ground, and, although it failed to live up to my expectations, I really did enjoy the wine!
Tasting note: The 2018 ‘Mule Blanch’ is deep lemon in color with a clean nose of medium intensity with aromas of hawthorne, acacia, mimosa blossom, chamomile, melon, and orange zest. On the palate this wine is dry with medium+ acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, medium+ flavor intensity and a medium finish with flavors of acacia, hawthorne, Anjou pear, tangerine, apricot, papaya, green tea, nettle and tarragon leaf. There is some complexity here, a fair amount of balance, but this effort failed to capture the intensity and length of finish I had hoped for. Drink now or through 2026, this wine is good: 8.9/10.