2018 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (5/16/2021)
#14357. This is probably the biggest and heaviest version of the Chave Hermitage I’ve yet tasted. It is a monumentally fruity wine – I served this blind to a few friends and guesses were all over the place because of how much the fruit eclipsed the rest of the savoury syrah/Hermitage characteristics. I can’t say they were particularly off base either – this wine started out as just a massive amalgamation of fruit. A few hours in, I felt that a little more character had started to develop with a hint of smoke (or was that the Benton’s I was cooking with) and salinity. If you’re looking for the green, herbal elements of something like 2004, you won’t find them here. Of the most recent few vintages I tasted on release, this is the most like the 2015, but with fruit that is a little more tinted towards the red and much more plummy. At the same time, there is structure here, though it is hidden by the roils of fruit. Unusually for a Chave Hermitage, the finish has an alcoholic bite which is likely explained by the 15% notation on the label. All in all, this wine matches my expectations of the vintage, even if I hope that the syrah characteristics I love become more prominent with time. Since producers have generally gotten better and better at handling extremely hot years, I purchased my usual quantity this vintage, but unless someone is generous enough to share a bottle of this with me in the next decade or so, I feel especially strongly that there is little more value to derive from opening another bottle of mine until that decade is up. (93 pts.)
I’m guessing you didn’t have the young 2003?
That was what I imagined would be the closest analogue but indeed I never tasted the 03 on release.
Yikes.
18 Northern Rhone is a minefield.
Description reminds me on the 2003, but even this atypical vintage showed some developement to typicity for a NRhone
last fall.
I’d say 20 to 25 years …
What misses have you found so far?
I went reasonably deep because it’s a birth year; I I imagine it’ll be great in time.
My take is to pass mostly on the vintage. I did grab Gonon to maintain my allocation, but the Iles Feray was was pretty large-scaled. Have definitely experienced a lot of misses in my beloved Chinon and Beaujolais. Doubt I grab any other Northern Rhônes.
The 2015 Iles Feray was also very large scaled. Could you compare the two?
Very similar, actually. I should have noted that. I loaded up on 2015, and that is sort of my reference point for why I’m not loading up on 2018. Not that I dislike the vintage, but it is a bigger vintage than what I normally want in a Rhone. I’m actually surprised by how 2014 and 2011 were generally overlooked by the critics, not that they really matter. I like those two vintages very much.
Still getting Levets right? ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
Interesting, I very much liked the 2015 Iles Feray; probably the best edition of that wine I had ever had. I look forward to trying the 2018.
But I also think the 2015 Gonon St. Joseph is phenomenal, so what do I know?
Jean-Louis left a note saying that this wine will need a lot of time. I take that to mean more than usual.
Well, your palate is 2x better than mine, but I’d put 2010 and 2013 over 2015, and maybe even 2011.
The 2003 was what you would imagine a really good Paso Syrah would taste like, very rich, very lush, ripe but not syrupy, big, dense wine. Somewhere I should have a written note, but can’t find it electronically, so it’s on paper somewhere.
The 2003 Chave St Joseph about 3 years ago was pretty fabulous, much better than I would have expected. I’m pretty certain I tried a 2003 Hermitage in the past few years, but again can’t find anything written. My recollection is that it had deteriorated, wasn’t holding up very well, but that could be faulty memory.
Here’s my note from tasting it in 2006
2003 J.L. Chave Hermitage Rouge
A conundrum. When first poured, the nose was an explosion of ultra-ripe berries bordering on raisined, caramelized fruit, reminiscent of late harvest Zin - very much like a number of overripe 2003 CdP I have tasted (and disliked). Dense, ripe, boysenberry liqueur, only moderate tannins for balance, a caricature of a wine. Interestingly unique, but how do you score this? C+ for me. About half an hour later I came back to the glass to find something that had transformed into a very different wine: the ultra-ripe nose has tamed down a bit, a nice tannic structure has emerged, and the ripeness of flavors seems to have diminished (perhaps due to the better tannic balance). Still not “Hermitage-like” but improved substantially, having been transformed into a fine central coast Syrah style a-la Saxum. Now A/A+. Those chasing this down at $500+ for its 100 point score should taste before buying
I highly doubt that. I never really developed a taste for those Loire wines you like so much. Give me fruit bombs all day long.
I haven’t had the 2010 St. Joseph but would place the 2015 over any of the vintages since 2007 (excepting the 2010 and 2018 which I haven’t tasted).
I would agree that your 2003 note (essentially on release) describes a substantially similar wine, but would also temper that by saying that the 2018 doesn’t show any of the roasted, overripe character that you describe in the 2003. I maintain that producers now do a lot better in hot vintages than in 2003. They’ve had at least 2009 and 2015 to practice on.
I’ll also say that vintages like 2003 and 2009 (and I suppose 2018) aren’t the Chave vintages I chase. The high critical scores cause the prices to skyrocket and they aren’t the vintage style I prefer in any case. 2004 is one of my favourites of the last 20 years.
I haven’t tasted the 18, so wasn’t myself making a link between the two vintages, just supplying a reference to my perception of the young 2003. From what I know of the two vintages, I don’t think 18 was anywhere near close to the extreme heat of 2003.
I agree on 2004, and other “off” vintages. I love 11, 07, for example over some of the more celebrated vintages. Even 08 is a fascinating wine, if more of a real outlier, and I think 14 is an unappreciated vintage that deserves more respect. 13 is probably my favorite of the last 15 years.
I have tasted a few now, but mostly in the cheaper end as i didn’t dare to go deep on the vintage (i even passed on Jamet at a decent price).
If we don’t go wine by wine, then the overall impression is just that a lot of them have a too noticeably alcohol, the fruit tends to be a little jammy and the acidity is lacking.
I did buy Franck Balthazar’s Chaillot and the Sans Soufre Ajoute as he handled 2015 very well. Have not tasted them yet though.
Jean-Luc Jamet surprised me positively lately. Hes basic Valine Syrah was very good and on day three it was all smoky meat and flowers. It does have some “warm vintage” fruit, but it clocks in at 13% abv and the acidity is very well balanced. So bought his 18 Cote Rotie as well (he now has older barrels so the wines seems less oaky than previous vintages).
But overall i rather backfill on 13 and 16 than spending money on 18. Bought a lot of Levet and Barge in those two vintages lately.