In January I was honored to be among a privileged group of wine lovers that gathered for a vertical tasting of Jean Luis Chave Hermitage. This was a tasting that I anticipated for quite some time. Chave is one of those producers that comprise my holy grail of winemakers. The domaine is older than many dating back to 1481. The family began cultivating vines in the current area of St. Joseph. During the 19th century phylloxera epidemic, the family was forced to seek a new site for cultivation. The hilltop of Tain l’Hermitage became the ideal site. The Chave family are diehard Ardechoise through and through. It was ironic to learn that Jean Louis has bucked family tradition and moved east of the river to a home a top the hillside of Hermitage, thus making him Valencoise. This story and many others where shared by our guest attendant, David Shiverick. David imports the Chave wines nationally. He is a fountain of knowledge sharing both antidotal stories and production facts throughout the evening.
We learned the Chave family owns the majority sites of Hermitage with about 14.5 hectares in Hermitage. J.L. Chave also produces estate St. Joseph as well as the negociante J.L. Chave Selections which produces the St. Joseph Offerus and Cotes du Rhone Mon Ceour. What makes Hermitage so dynamic and compelling are the many varied soil compositions that comprise the AOC. From clay, chalk and limestone to granite, sand and rocky soils. each site adds a dimension and specific component to the cepage. Jean Louis becomes obsessive when contemplating the final blends for the Blanc and Rouge. With so many vintage variables and the weight of over 500 years of family tradition, ot to mention, making one of the world’s greatest wines, it’s no wonder Jean Louis spends a majority of time obsessing about the blends.
Chave’s elevage consists of destemming, with each vineyard site fermented and aged separately. Fermentation is done in both stainless steel and open wooden vats with punch down via pigeage a pied (by foot). To maintain and respect the terrior, very little to none new wood is exposed to the juice. J.L. Chave produces a Blanc, Rouge, Cuvee Cathelin (Rouge) and a vin de paille (sweet) in some vintages. The Cuvee Cathelin was introduced in 1990 as a homage to artist Bernard Cathelin. Contrary to some theories, this is not a super cuvee a la Robert Parker. Rather Jean Luis insists it is Hermitage in a different style.
Greetings
- 2002 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese #6 - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Started the night off. Classic Zilliken, drinking well and showing just beginning of complexity. Good length and enjoyable, but we knew what was ahead so we made a quick finish to this one.
A surprise entry at the beginning.
- 2003 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Honey, nutty nose. Deep flavors, layered, rich, intense but very balanced. Completely open. Wonderful!
On to the Blancs, flight #1.
- 1978 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Color is dark for a Blanc showing it's age. Closed at first, but after 30 minutes began to show focused flavors of grilled/roasted nuts, buterscotch, marzipan and honey, surprisingly fresh. The palate is unctous with minerals. Finish is somewhat short. Still has some life though the palate is on the deline. - 1988 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This was different than the others. Very musty and damp, but definately not TCA. Musty notes blew off after some time, showing petrol and some cirtrus notes. Very mineral driven and not nearly as complex as the other wines. Odd man out. - 1997 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Probably the best wine in the flight, drinking at peak. Super golden color. Sharp notes of honey, herbs and melon. Very floral. The palate is long and broad with more tropical notes, layered and deep. The most complete wine of the flight. Stunning. - 1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This was the most structured wine in the flight. Spice, nuts and tropical fruits in the nose. Very deep and long in the mouth. Very balanced but certainly hiding a wealth of treasures. Time will reward.
Blanc flight #2
- 1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Herbs and marzipan in th nose. Viscous texture with golden color. A bit hot on the back end. - 1991 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Very very nice right from the get go. Darkest of the wines in this flight, yet the most complete and drinking at peak. Classic notes of marzipan, floral/herbs, honey and pineapple. Still fresh with an almost grippy, tannic quality. Slightly short on the finish but a very good wine. My favorite in the flight. - 2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
My least favorite in this flight. Perhaps still a little closed. Shy nose of flowers and honey. Palate is clearly not as long and full as the other bottles. Finish clips a bit. - 2001 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
My second favorite of the flight. Spicey nose with great lifting aromatics. Very smooth and elegent on the palate. Flavors are very pure and clean with whote stone fruits, minerals, waxy nuts and some honey. Went amazingly well with food. This wine will certainly gain complexity and could be staggering at maturity. I could drink this all night long. Stunning!
Rouge
- 1988 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This was a very good bottle just not great. Bretty, herbal and green aromatics. Some balance issues with is wine with the acidity poking out which comprimised the length. Compared to its counterparts, the weakest of the reds. - 1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This was the bad ass wine of the night. A misbehaving outcast, a rude wine. Started out funky as hell. This later lead to a wonderful perfume of spice, clove, nutmeg, licorice, dark red fruits, leather and touch of wet fur. The palate was long and rich with obvious acidity and a bit of unresolved tannin. Clearly drinking well with room for additional complexity and resolution of the tannins. A stunning wine. - 1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
OMFG!!!! This is why we relish great wine. The stars aligned for this bottle as it couldn't be better. It has it all: complexity, length, balance, ethereal flavors and aromas and that "je ne sais pas". A dazzling array of complexity and richness, yet as elegant as wine can get. Very Burgundian like in it's density and weight. If I had to be critical, the acidity began to stick out just a bit after an hour in the glass, but this is irrelevant to the beauty this wine possesses. One of the greatest wines I have ever tasted.
A last minute surprise!
- 1995 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This was a super version of this wine. I have had it in the past, and this was clearly the best of the bunch. In a very nice place. Very complex and savory aromatics with crushed herbs, flowers, grapefruit, dark berries, leather, clove and garrigue spice. The palate was velvety glove like, rich, powerful and long. Concentrated, yet retains an elegance. A super wine that was not outclassed in tonight's company.
Sweet farewell.
- 2003 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese ** - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Young but oh so nice. Delivers the goods despite the vintage. So easy going down. Showing plenty of sweetness shored up with plenty of acidity. Not overtly rich, in fact somewhat light on it's feet, with a creamy texture. Really finished nicely. These were a steal when PC blew them out. Did anyone buy enough?
After tasting these wines, there is no doubt, Chave is a truly one of the greatest wine estates in the world. I've thought long and hard about how to sum up these wines and keep coming back to one word, "elegance". There's a lot of tasty juice out there, but what distinguishes good from great? I think that is a personal preference, but for me elegance cannot be made so easily. It comes from generations of wisdom, the terrior, and most importantly the obsession to make greatness. The grail that Chave is has earned its reputation deservedly.
I can't eloquently put into words how amazing this event really was. As I ponder it several weeks later, it seems to have grown to mythical proportions. I can't thank the organizer and participants enough for their generosity and insight. I'm truly blessed to know these individuals.
