The Domaine de Roure is located in Gervans, with old Marsanne vines grown on white-hued slopes facing south. Marked by scents of crushed stone, delicate herbs and ripe melon, the 2019 Crozes Hermitage Blanc Domaine de Roure is a terrific effort. Medium to full-bodied, it's round and generous on the palate, with a rich, silky feel and a long, citrus-tinged finish. While delicious now, I'm confident it will continue to drink well for at least another 6-8 years, possibly longer.

Moving to the Northern Rh?ne releases, the 2015 Crozes Hermitage Blanc Domaine de Roure is a chiseled, fresh, downright classy white that offers lots of peach, crushed rocks and white aromas and flavors. It is ideal for drinking over the coming 4-5 years.

Exotic and perfumed, with crisp white peach, hints of mint, flowers and orange blossom, the 2014 Crozes Hermitage Blanc Domaine de Roure is medium-bodied, textured and possesses a beautiful sweetness of fruit and a supple finish. This vintage was difficult for Crozes in general, but this is a beautiful white that will keep for 3-4 years at a minimum.

A 100% Marsanne cuvee made from 60-year-old vines, the 2011 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Roure Blanc emerges from that vineyard’s granite soils and is aged half in wood tanks and the rest in the fashionable cement eggs. Elegant notes of quince, white currants, figs and citrus jump from the glass of this medium to full-bodied, fresh white. It possesses good acidity as well as that unmistakable liqueur of rock-like character often found in these unoaked, white Northern Rhones. Readers should not forget the southern Rhone offerings from Paul Jaboulet-Aine that I reviewed in Issue #203 (October, 2012), especially such terrific values as the 2010 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Plan de Dieu Domaine Pere et Fille and the resurrected Chateauneuf du Papes, the 2010 Domaine de Terre Ferme. The Northern Rhone wines reviewed herein reflect the emphasis on building domaine names while not forsaking the negociant wines. The wines reviewed in this report are only the domaine wines where the Paul Jaboulet firm owns the vineyards and harvests the grapes. In Cornas, the Jaboulets own the highly regarded Domaine de St.-Pierre. A second wine, the Hermitage La Petite Chapelle, is now made in order to increase the quality of Jaboulet’s flagship offering, the Hermitage La Chapelle. As for the Hermitage La Chapelle, recent vintages (starting with 2009) have been the greatest wines made at this estate since one of the all-time classics, the 1990. There was no 2011 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Roure declared. The white wines from Paul Jaboulet-Aine have also jumped in quality. Keep in mind that the proprietors, the Frey family, not only own Chateau La Lagune in Bordeaux, but are also major stockholders in the impressive Champagne firm of Billecart-Salmon. The 2010 whites all performed well. They are slightly less evolved and precocious than the 2011s, and possess a slightly greater degree of the crushed rock minerality than one finds in the more fruit-driven 2011s. Importer: Frederick Wildman, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

Even better is the outstanding 2010 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine Raymond Roure Blanc. Made from 100% Marsanne, this cuvee has more in common with a top white Hermitage than a Crozes-Hermitage. Beautifully made, with hints of orange marmalade, honeysuckle, spring flowers and candle wax, this rich, full-bodied white reveals zesty, fresh acids as well as an unmistakable liqueur of rocks character running through its aromatic and flavor profile. One needs no further evidence of the extraordinary turn around in the quality of the Jaboulet wines than what proprietress Caroline Frey has accomplished in 2009 as well as 2010. As I indicated last year, this is one of the great qualitative turn arounds in the wine world. It is welcomed by all wine lovers given the historic legacy of the wines of Jaboulet and the importance of this famous firm in all of France. Ms. Frey, who is also responsible for the brilliant wines produced at La Lagune in Bordeaux, has reduced the amount of new oak for the red wines to about 20% and to negligible proportions for the whites. A second wine of Hermitage, La Petite Chapelle, is fashioned from 33% or more of the production that is culled out to guarantee that the great reputation of the Hermitage La Chapelle has enjoyed over the last century is maintained. Importer: Frederick Wildman, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700