While Jaboulet’s 2005 Cotes du Rhone Parallel 45 is a major disappointment, the 2005 Cotes du Rhone-Villages exhibits plenty of pepper, garrigue, sweet cherries, and dark fruits in a medium-bodied style. It is meant to be consumed over the next several years. Everything is changing at the Jaboulet firm now that it has been sold and is under control of the Frey family, also major investors in the Billecart-Salmon Champagne, and the proprietors of Bordeaux’s Chateau La Lagune. These 2005s were sourced and blended by the Jaboulet family, and finished by the new owners. I fully expect a rise in quality across the board at this estate, and I can’t wait to see what the new owners do with their first top vintage. The following cuvees will probably be discounted heavily to make room for the newer vintages.Importer: Frederick Wildman, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700