Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 1990

Robert Parker
Also mature, yet with another level of texture and richness, the 1990 Hermitage is a profound effort that’s drinking perfectly. Voluptuous, yet classy and still refined, with awesome cassis and blackberry fruit, flowers, rose petal and hints of rendered bacon fat, it is full-bodied, textured and layered on the palate, with no hard edges and killer length on the finish. This beauty makes lights go off in my head, and as with the ’91, I’d drink bottles over the coming 4-5 years or so. Located in the tiny village of Mauves, just south of Hermitage, lies one of the true bastilles of traditionally made wines, and there are few vinous experiences that surpass getting to taste through the different terroirs of Hermitage and Saint Joseph in Chave’s cellar. Founded in 1481, Chave has seen a long succession of generations, with Gerard Chave, who was born in 1935, slowly beginning to hand over the reins to his brilliant son, Jean-Louis (born in 1968), in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, the estate stays firmly planted in tradition, yet is far from resting on its laurels or reputation, completing work on a new cellar (just across the street from their existing cellar and connected via a tunnel) in 2014, and working hard on a number of new vineyard sites. While this new cellar includes a state-of-the-art lab, Jean-Louis was quick to point out, “you don’t need a lab to make great wine.” In addition, and along with the help of Jean-Louis’ wife, Erin Cannon-Chave, they’ve continued to grow their negociant label, Chave Selection, which offers fabulous bang-for-the-buck and includes both Northern and Southern Rhones. While Jean-Louis has a professor-like level of expertise with regards to Hermitage, today his passion is firmly directed at the steep slopes on the western side of the Rhone River, in the appellation of Saint Joseph. He has numerous new vineyards coming on-line, and while everything is currently blended into his estate Saint-Joseph, each of the individual terroirs are incredibly unique, and I’m sure will be bottled on their own sometime in the future. With more and more of Hermitage going to larger corporations these days, it’s inspiring to see this small, family owned estate still sitting near the top of the hierarchy. Jean-Louis is still young (and has a young son who takes after him, and a daredevil daughter who takes after Erin), so the future is very bright at this estate! Looking specifically at their Hermitage, the Chaves vinify each of their individual terroirs separately, and the components are all aged in small barrels before blending and bottling without being filtered. As is the norm in Hermitage, everything is completely destemmed, and the percentage of new oak is kept to a minimum, falling in the 20-30% range. The style here is beautifully transparent, with the wines always showing the vintage characteristics clearly (which Jean-Louis breaks into a “Granite” year, or a “Sun” year). In addition, when tasted as individual components, each plot’s characteristics always shine through. While the wines have the balance and purity to dish out plenty of pleasure in their youth, they age beautifully, with Jean-Louis recommending at least 15 years of cellaring for most vintages.

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave er en af verdens mest traditionsrige og respekterede vinproducenter. Familien Chave har dyrket vin på Hermitage-højen i Nordrhône siden 1481, og gennem generationer har huset opbygget en nærmest mytisk status blandt vinelskere og samlere. I dag videreføres arven af Jean-Louis Chave, som anses for at være en af de største fortolkere af Hermitages unikke terroir.

Husets filosofi er baseret på en dyb respekt for terroiret. Vinene skabes som en sammensætning af druer fra flere af Hermitages mest eftertragtede parceller, herunder Les Rocoules, L’Hermite, Maison Blanche og Péleat. Denne tilgang giver vinene en kompleksitet og balance, som har gjort Chave til selve referencepunktet for både rød og hvid Hermitage.

Jean-Louis Chaves vine er kendt for deres ekstraordinære dybde, præcision og lagringspotentiale. De røde Hermitage-vine på Syrah kombinerer kraft, mineralitet og finesse, mens de hvide Hermitage-vine på Marsanne og Roussanne regnes blandt verdens største hvidvine med en imponerende evne til at udvikle sig over årtier.

Trods husets legendariske status er produktionen fortsat præget af håndværk og kompromisløs kvalitet. Hver årgang afspejler ikke blot Hermitages særprægede terroir, men også familiens mere end 500 år lange erfaring med at skabe vine, der forener intensitet, elegance og tidløshed.

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave står i dag som et ikon i Rhône og som en af de få producenter i verden, hvis bedste vine ikke blot betragtes som store inden for deres region, men som målestokken for hele appellationen.