About The Wine

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.

Many hours of thought, insight, and conversation go into the final component blend for Hermitage. While percentages vary from year to year, the constant backbone of Hermitage Rouge is Syrah from Bessards Vineyard with its steep, granitic slopes. These vines average 50 years in age with the best vines reaching 80+ years in age. Generally, 100% destemmed, as the Hermitage is meant to be about the expression of the individual vineyards and soils; Jean-Louis believes that stems have a tendency to level out the differences. Fermentation in wood tonneaux and stainless steel tanks. Aged in barriques for 30 months.

Tasting Notes: 100% Syrah. Immensely complex on the nose, red fruits, dark chocolate, cassis, toasted spices, cured meat, fresh cracked pepper, and turned earth light up the senses. The palate is concentrated, deeply complex, and full of plush red fruits. The elegance of this wine is unmatched with firm acidity, fine tannins, and a finish that goes on for minutes. 

Reviews

An incredibly refined, elegant, floral and silky Hermitage. The nose shows notes of dark cherries, forest berries, sweet spices, forest floor and a hint of roasted meat. Medium-bodied with finely grained tannins. It’s very 2021, with freshness and brightness. Violets caress the palate and the pristine, lively finish with length and a touch of pepper. Drink or hold. ~98 James Suckling

A tasting of the constituent lieux-dits before blending was as instructive as ever. Péléat was smooth, silky and red-fruited with good acidity; Beaumes slightly meatier, a little less concentrated than a typical year, but with good tannic drive; L'Ermite was serious, dry and mineral; Bessards very strict, with tight, rigid tannins. The final blend is likely to produce a structural rather than generous style of Hermitage, with tannins that will need a long time in bottle to settle. This will be ascetic in youth, then complex and textural with age. ~96 Decanter

As is usually the case, I was able to taste the new vintage in its individual components, which is an incredible lesson in the terroir of Hermitage, and I continue to believe this is one of the most educational tastings I do every year. All of the samples for the 2021 Hermitage rated between 93 and 95, and this should be a classic, more medium-bodied, elegant, yet still substantial Hermitage. All of the single parcels show classic, textbook characteristics and possess ripe tannins and outstanding purity of fruit. I suspect this wine will be in the mold of the 2014, possibly the 2004. It should benefit from just short-term cellaring and have two decades of longevity. ~94-96 Jeb Dunnuck

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