Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Crozes-Hermitage (Rhône Valley, France) 2012

The vineyard behind this wine is the original Jaboulet plot, and with a surface area of more than 120 acres, is probably the largest contiguous vineyard in the entire northern Rhône.  Quite flat but very rocky, it produced a wine in 2012 that shows excellent focus and brightness but also quite substantial fruit recalling red berries with some black-toned accents.  There’s also a hint of cocoa powder in this, lending plenty of early interest to a wine that will only improve during the next decade.