2020 Domaine JL Chave Hermitage Blanc

The Chave family has been growing wine in the Northern Rhone since 1481. Jean-Louis joined his father in 1992 and currently represents 16 generations of unbroken lineage committed to the production of some of the finest Syrah, Marsanne, and Roussanne on the planet! The Key to these long-lived wines of great purity, elegance, power, and finesse, is the family's winemaking pedigree and remarkable blending skills. The Chave family has never released a single vineyard or cru Hermitage instead cultivates the perfect blend of vineyards crafting the most prodigious Syrah wine in the world, year after year.

“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 the insights and craftsmanship of the past.” ~ Andrew Jefford, The New France

The Chaves’ methods for all their winemaking are traditional farming, super low yields (focused on quality), full ripeness, and minimal manipulation. Their unmatched meticulousness continues through five centuries to render venerable expressions of the purest of Rhône terroir! Chave's family talents passed down from generation to generation allowing them to produce unmatched wines in even the most difficult vintages. As the largest landowner on the hill of Hermitage, the Chave family's consistency and commitment to crafting the world's finest Syrah has been unmatched over five centuries.

Fermentation 100% in oak barrel. Aged in barriques for 24 months.

80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne. The 2017 vintage is redolent with white flowers and honeysuckle. Increased acidity for the vintage results in a taut structure and incredible length. Notes of orange blossom and lemon curd.

Another heavenly white from this estate is the 2020 Hermitage Blanc, which is the usual 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne from a mix lieux-dits. Incredibly perfumed with notes of acacia flowers, buttered stone fruits, toasted brioche, honeysuckle, and crushed stone, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a seamless, layered texture, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a great finish. The purity, balance, and intensity here are just about off the charts, and this beauty deserves a solid decade of bottle age, although you'll be excused if you drink one in its youth as well. ~99 Jeb Dunnuck

I tasted five different lots that will be blended into the 2020 Hermitage Blanc, from Péléat, l'Ermite, and three parts of Les Rocoules. Full-bodied, honeyed, and rich, this should be another outstanding vintage for Chave's white, with the incredible lushness of the bigger wines balanced by the zestiness found at the top of Les Rocoules and the delicacy and freshness of L'Ermite. ~96-98 Robert Parker

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