From Tain-l'Hermitage to the world: almost two centuries of Jaboulet
1834 Antoine Jaboulet (1807–1864) founded the Maison Paul Jaboulet Aîné at the foot of the Hermitage hills in Tain-l'Hermitage — right in the heart of the northern Rhône. It was thanks to his sons Paul and Henri that the Maison quickly gained fame; six generations of the Jaboulet family continued to run the house. Louis Jaboulet drove the winery forward until 1977, and his son Gérard opened it up to a global clientele through international marketing — until his untimely death in 1997. Around 170 years after its founding, the era of the Jaboulet family came to an end: in January 2006, the Frey family took over the Maison. The Freys have been rooted in Champagne for generations and also manage Château La Lagune, a Grand Cru Classé in Bordeaux, as well as other estates in Burgundy. With the purchase, they had a clear goal: to raise the quality of the house back to the level of its best decades.
Caroline Frey has been at the helm ever since — winemaker and oenologist, eldest daughter of Jean-Jacques Frey. She took on responsibility early on; her formative signature was already evident at Château La Lagune before she took over the management of Maison Jaboulet. A new chapter began with her — without breaking with what the Jaboulet family had built.
Biology, biodynamics and the power of the soil
Caroline's first step was consistent: the negociant share was reduced, and the focus was placed on their own vineyards. Today, the house manages around 105 hectares in the northern Rhône, from Cornas and Saint-Péray in the south to Côte-Rôtie in the north — in addition to plots in Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, Condrieu and, with the Cuvée Parallèle 45, in the Côtes du Rhône. The estate received Haute Valeur Environnementale certification as early as 2015. Organic certification (AB) for the entire vineyard portfolio followed in 2016; since 2021, all vineyards have been managed biodynamically. This means: no synthetic plant protection, work according to the lunar calendar, and the use of biodynamic preparations to strengthen the soil and the vine.
In the cellar, the team works in a gravity-flow winery — the grape must flows without pumps. Concrete eggs, fûts, demi-muids, and conical stainless steel tanks are used as aging vessels, depending on the origin and character of the cuvée. The goal is always aromatic precision and the typicity of the respective terroir — no dominant use of wood that masks the fruit profile.
Syrah, Grenache and the backbone of the Côtes du Rhône
Syrah is the house's lead variety: on the granite and slate of the northern Rhône, it unfolds aromas of dark cherry, violets, black olives, and spices, plus a tannin-rich backbone that promises depth. The white cuvées made from Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, and Grenache Blanc, on the other hand, rely on floral opulence and weight. With the Parallèle 45 cuvée — named after the latitude on which Tain-l'Hermitage lies — Jaboulet has been offering the classic entry into the world of the Rhône for decades: the reds, mostly based on Grenache and Syrah, bring red and black fruit with a lively structure, while the whites rely on aromatic breadth with a fresh line of acidity. Behind the Parallèle 45 lies the full weight of a house that works appellations such as Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, or Cornas with the same standard — consistently organic, artisanally vinified, terroir-oriented right into the glass.
