2005 Paul Jaboulet Aine Crozes Hermitage Domaine Raymond Roure RP--85--87

Robert Parker: 85--87 Points
Wine Advocate # 170 Apr 2007 Robert Parker (85-87?) Drink: N/A $41-$56 (50) The 2005 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine Raymond Roure seems excruciatingly tannic, austere, tough-textured, but there are plenty of herbs and red fruits underneath the structure. I wouldn�t bet on this wine coming together given the astringent nature of the tannins, but time will tell. I have serious doubts about it. I fully expect quality will dramatically soar at Jaboulet (just as it has at Chateau La Lagune in Bordeaux) and that these transitional vintages, particularly the mediocre 2004s which were not made by the new owners, and the good but hardly inspiring 2005s, will be lost memories when the new ownership team has the next fine vintage in the northern Rhone. As I reported last year, everything is in transition at Paul Jaboulet-Aine. This old family firm, founded in the early 1800s, was sold to the Frey family, who are major investors in the Billecart-Salmon Champagne house and proprietors of the well-known Chateau La Lagune in the southern Medoc. The entire winemaking operation is undergoing massive changes as the Jaboulet wines have had a lackluster as well as irregular track record after the death of Gerard Jaboulet in 1997.