2015 Jean-Louis Chave Selection Hermitage Farconnet Rouge Organic, Northern Rhone

2015 Jean-Louis Chave Selection Hermitage Farconnet Rouge Organic, Northern Rhone

2010 E Guigal Hermitage Rouge, Northern Rhone

2010 E Guigal Hermitage Rouge, Northern Rhone

2016 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge Organic, Northern Rhone

A$588.00

Jean-Louis Chave Selections, his négociant line which sources grapes from various areas in the northern Rhône, represents a more accessible way for the consumer to experience the wines of the Chave family. “Mon Coeur” Côtes-du-Rhône is a blend of excellent plots in Vinsobres, Visan, Buisson, and Estargues while “Silène” Crozes-Hermitage is 50% estate Syrah and 50% purchased. As with all things Chave, quality is eminent even at the entry level.


Availability: Out of stock
SKU
JLCHER166
96
A wealth of floras with spiced dark chocolate, peppery notes, graphite, dark stones and grilled meats. There’s a very concentrated core of red and black fruit on the palate, weighing deep into the middle with super fine yet strong tannins wrapping up the wine. There is also enduring red-fruit freshness emerging into the finish. This is a great Hermitage that will deliver incredible age potential and enjoy an esteemed life in bottle. Barrel sample. 
97-98 points James Suckling jamessuckling.com
I was able to taste the 2016 Hermitage from three separate tanks which are blended prior to bottling. All three samples showed brilliant purity of fruit, full body, a forward, seamless, elegant texture, and classic building minerality. This is haute couture at its finest and is pure class that could come from nowhere else.
As with most 2016s, it's going to be relatively accessible in its youth, yet this is one Hermitage that's not going to hit maturity for another 8- 10 years and will keep for three decades.
96-99 points Jeb Dunnuck December 2018, The Wine Advocate
Jean-Louis Chave showed me this unfinished wine in components. #1) Les Beaume: a gorgeous bouquet evokes red and blue fruit liqueur, incense, Asian spices and smoky minerals. Shows a very suave blend of depth and energy, silky texture and vibrant black raspberry and boysenberry flavors that spread out steadily on the back half. #2) Meal: much more firm and stern than the Les Beaume, showing bitter cherry, licorice and olive character and solid grip. Chewy and focused, but there's a core of appealingly sweet dark fruit as well. Opens up a bit with air, but this is solid and has a serious backbone. #3) Ermite: complex and intensely perfumed, displaying exotic floral and spice notes and powerful, alluringly sweet dark berry character. The floral quality dominates a very long, smooth finish where fine-grained tannins build slowly and in harmony with the dark fruit. #4) Bessards: Succulent and focused, displaying ripe dark fruit liqueur, spicecake and violet pastille qualities energized by vibrant spice and mineral flourishes. Sweet and densely packed yet animated, with superb clarity; a sexy cola nuance emerges on the back half. The mix of depth, power and energy here is textbook Chave, and this bottling will be a must-buy for those who can find and afford it.
93-95 points Josh Raynolds vinous.com

“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.”

                                          Andrew Jeffords, The New France

  Wine growers in the northern Rhône since 1481, the Chave family (currently helmed by Gérard and son Jean-Louis) represents 16 generations of unbroken lineage committed to the production of some of the finest Syrah, Marsanne, and Roussanne on the planet. Jean Louis joined his father in 1992 after completing undergraduate studies at University of Connecticut and a degree in oenology at Davis. It was at that time that he completely replanted vineyards on the family’s original estate in Saint-Joseph, which had been abandoned in the early 1900’s when phylloxera hit the region.

 The key to perfect balance in Chave’s Hermitage is in their remarkable blending skill, which begins again every season. Many hours of thought, insight, and conversation go into the final component blend for Hermitage. Never once has the Chave family released a single vineyard or cru Hermitage. While percentages vary from year to year, the constant backbone of Hermitage Rouge is Syrah from Bessards Vineyard with its steep, granitic slopes. Similarly with the Blanc, the components vary, however the base is made from old vines Marsanne from their Péléat vineyard. Some Roussanne is also added to the final blend.

Long-lived wines of great purity, elegance, power, and finesse, Chave Hermitage is winemaking in its apogee. In years when they believe the quality of Hermitage will not be compromised, their ultra-rare prestige “Cuvée Cathelin” is bottled, which represents a variation on their Hermitage with the same lieux-dits at different percentages.

Jean-Louis Chave Selections, his négociant line which sources grapes from various areas in the northern Rhône, represents a more accessible way for the consumer to experience the wines of the Chave family. “Mon Coeur” Côtes-du-Rhône is a blend of excellent plots in Vinsobres, Visan, Buisson, and Estargues while “Silène” Crozes-Hermitage is 50% estate Syrah and 50% purchased. As with all things Chave, quality is eminent even at the entry level.

The Chave family's methods for their winemaking include tr-aditional farming, super low yields, full ripeness, and minimal manipulation. Their unmatched meticulousness continues through five centuries to render venerable expressions of the purest of northern Rhône terroir.


More Information
Product/Service Sold Out Yes
En Primeur No
New Arrivals No
Wine Type Red Wine
Wine Style Certified Organic
Country France
Region Rhone Valley, Saint-Joseph, Northern Rhone
Varietals Shiraz
Vintage 2016
Bottle Size 750ml
Wine Points 96-98
Write Your Own Review
Only registered users can write reviews. Please Sign in or create an account