La Noble    

La Noble” is Hand Picked Selections’ brand of French varietals. The first vintage was 1989, a Merlot Estate Bottled at Domaine la Noble by Yves Delmas. Yves’ grapes still figure in many La Noble bottlings.

There are no photos of Yves here. Far from being French nobility, Yves is a farmer, deep country to the core, and does not like having his picture taken. The vineyards and fermentation tanks say it all. The vineyards resemble a manicured garden. The fermentation tanks are fermentation tanks.

La Noble originally sold for $5 - 6. Prices have increased gently, about 3% per year, in line with inflation (the fall in the dollar has only slightly accelerated the increases). In 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon was introduced, followed by Chard-onnay. By the mid-90’s, HPS was selling more wine than Yves was growing. Grapes were contracted from neighboring vineyards. The terroir was the same but not all of the growers are as good as Yves. Neighbor’s grapes are still used occasionally.

In a region as large as Languedoc, certain districts will excel with certain varietals. HPS tends to buy the same varietals from the same districts every year. Merlot and Cabernet still come mostly from Yves’ village of Pennautier and adjoining villages west of Carcassonne. Besides Yves’ own vineyard, Chardonnay comes from the high cool vineyards around Limoux and north of Pic St Loup, except in cold rainy years, when much of it can come from villages in the usually hot districts adjoining the Mediterranean, notably Florensac and Marseillette.

With blends and Estate names increasingly sought after by knowledgeable consumers, La Noble remains a touchstone of the HPS portfolio. The 2004 introduces a dramatic change in packaging, from the sober classic label featuring the French ‘fleur de lis’ to a bright, modern package featuring a noble on horseback. Of greater importance, the wine is now bottled under screwcap. It is abundantly clear that screwcaps are the best means of sealing wines meant to be consumed relatively young.