“The Chave line… could make a fair claim to be France’s winemaking royal family: in no other of France’s great terroirs is the largest individual landholder so deeply rooted in time and place,so supremely competent, and so modest a custodian of insights and craftsmanship of the past.”
Chave's 2013 Hermitage Blanc had just been bottled prior to my visit. Always 80% to 85% Marsanne and the rest Roussanne, from the lieux-dits of Rocoules, Peleat, L'Hermite and Maison Blanche, it's raised primarily in barrels with a small percentage new. Loaded with notions of buttered citrus, white currants, liquid rock, white flowers and hints of honeysuckle, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, beautiful freshness and purity, and a focused, clean, elegant profile that keeps you coming back to the glass. It lacks the sheer wealth of material found in blockbuster years like 2009 and 2003, yet is perfectly balanced, has loads of richness and a great finish. Give it a year or two and enjoy bottles over the following two decades.
97 pts – Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate, Drink 2017-2037.