Chave at Palate

G

Gregg G

Gregg Greenbaum
CHAVE AT PALATE - Glendale, CA. (1/24/2010)

In January I was honored to be among a privileged group of wine lovers that gathered for a vertical tasting of Jean Luis Chave Hermitage. This was a tasting that I anticipated for quite some time. Chave is one of those producers that comprise my holy grail of winemakers. The domaine is older than many dating back to 1481. The family began cultivating vines in the current area of St. Joseph. During the 19th century phylloxera epidemic, the family was forced to seek a new site for cultivation. The hilltop of Tain lHermitage became the ideal site. The Chave family are diehard Ardechoise through and through. It was ironic to learn that Jean Louis has bucked family tradition and moved east of the river to a home a top the hillside of Hermitage, thus making him Valencoise. This story and many others where shared by our guest attendant, David Shiverick. David imports the Chave wines nationally. He is a fountain of knowledge sharing both antidotal stories and production facts throughout the evening.

We learned the Chave family owns the majority sites of Hermitage with about 14.5 hectares in Hermitage. J.L. Chave also produces estate St. Joseph as well as the negociante J.L. Chave Selections which produces the St. Joseph Offerus and Cotes du Rhone Mon Ceour. What makes Hermitage so dynamic and compelling are the many varied soil compositions that comprise the AOC. From clay, chalk and limestone to granite, sand and rocky soils, each site adds a dimension and specific component to the cepage. Jean Louis becomes obsessive when contemplating the final blends for the Blanc and Rouge. With so many vintage variables and the weight of over 500 years of family tradition, not to mention, making one of the worlds greatest wines, its no wonder Jean Louis spends a majority of time obsessing about the blends.

Chaves elevage consists of destemming, with each vineyard site fermented and aged separately. Fermentation is done in both stainless steel and open wooden vats with punch down via pigeage a pied (by foot). To maintain and respect the terrior, very little to none new wood is exposed to the juice. J.L. Chave produces a Blanc, Rouge, Cuvee Cathelin (Rouge) and a vin de paille (sweet) in some vintages. The Cuvee Cathelin was introduced in 1990 as a homage to artist Bernard Cathelin. Contrary to some theories, this is not a super cuvee a la Robert Parker. Rather Jean Louis insists it is Hermitage in a different style.

Greetings

2002 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Sptlese #6 - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Started the night off. Classic Zilliken, drinking well and showing just beginning of complexity. Good length and enjoyable, but we knew what was ahead so we made a quick finish to this one.

A surprise entry at the beginning.

2003 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
Honey, nutty nose. Deep flavors, layered, rich, intense but very balanced. Completely open. Wonderful!

On to the Blancs, flight #1.

1978 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
Color is dark for a Blanc showing it's age. Closed at first, but after 30 minutes began to show focused flavors of grilled/roasted nuts, buterscotch, marzipan and honey, surprisingly fresh. The palate is unctous with minerals. Finish is somewhat short. Still has some life though the palate is on the decline.

1988 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
This was different than the others. Very musty and damp, but definately not TCA. Musty notes blew off after some time, showing petrol and some cirtrus notes. Very mineral driven and not nearly as complex as the other wines. Odd man out.

1997 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
Probably the best wine in the flight, drinking at peak. Super golden color. Sharp notes of honey, herbs and melon. Very floral. The palate is long and broad with more tropical notes, layered and deep. The most complete wine of the flight. Stunning.

1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
This was the most structured wine in the flight. Spice, nuts and tropical fruits in the nose. Very deep and long in the mouth. Very balanced but certainly hiding a wealth of treasures. Time will reward.

Blanc flight #2

1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
Herbs and marzipan in the nose. Viscous texture with golden color. A bit hot on the back end.

1991 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
Very nice right from the get go. Darkest of the wines in this flight, yet the most complete and drinking at peak. Classic notes of marzipan, floral/herbs, honey and pineapple. Still fresh with an almost grippy, tannic quality. Slightly short on the finish but a very good wine. My favorite in the flight.

2000 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
My least favorite in this flight. Perhaps still a little closed. Shy nose of flowers and honey. Palate is clearly not as long and full as the other bottles. Finish clips a bit.

2001 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
My second favorite of the flight. Spicey nose with great lifting aromatics. Very smooth and elegent on the palate. Flavors are very pure and clean with whote stone fruits, minerals, waxy nuts and some honey. Went amazingly well with food. This wine will certainly gain complexity and could be staggering at maturity. I could drink this all night long. Stunning!

Rouge

1988 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
This was a very good bottle just not great. Bretty, herbal and green aromatics. Some balance issues with is wine with the acidity poking out which comprimised the length. Compared to its counterparts, the weakest of the reds.

1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
This was the bad ass wine of the night. A misbehaving outcast, a rude wine. Started out funky as hell. This later lead to a wonderful perfume of spice, clove, nutmeg, licorice, dark red fruits, leather and touch of wet fur. The palate was long and rich with obvious acidity and a bit of unresolved tannin. Clearly drinking well with room for additional complexity and resolution of the tannins. A stunning wine.

1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
OMFG!!!! This is why we relish great wine. The stars aligned for this bottle as it couldn't be better. It has it all: complexity, length, balance, etherial flavors and aromas and that "je ne sais pas". A dazzling array of complexity and richness, yet as elegant as wine can get. Very Burgundian like in it's density and weight. If I had to be critical, the acidity began to stick out just a bit after an hour in the glass, but this is irrelevant to the beauty this wine possesses. One of the greatest wines I have ever tasted.

A last minute surprise!

1995 Paul Jaboulet An Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
This was a super version of this wine. I have had it in the past, and this was clearly the best of the bunch. In a very nice place. Very complex and savory aromatics with crushed herbs, flowers, grapefruit, dark berries, leather, clove and garrigue spice. The palate was velvety glove like, rich, powerful and long. Concentrated, yet retains an elegance. A super wine that was not outclassed ijn tonight's company.

Sweet farewell.

2003 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben rziger Wrzgarten Riesling Auslese ** - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Young but oh so nice. Delivers the goods despite the vintage. So easy going down. Showing plenty of sweetness shored up with plenty of acidity. Not overtly rich, in fact somewhat light on it's feet, with a creamy texture. Really finished nicely. These were a steal when PC blew them out. Did anyone buy enough?

After tasting these wines, there is no doubt, Chave is a truly one of the greatest wine estates in the world. I've thought long and hard about how to sum up these wines and keep coming back to one word, "elegance". There's a lot of tasty juice out there, but what distinguishes good from great? I think that is a personal preference, but for me elegance cannot be made so easily. It comes from generations of wisdom, the terrior, and most importantly the obsession to make greatness. The grail that Chave is has earned its reputation deservedly.

I can't eloquently put into words how amazing this event really was. As I ponder it several weeks later, it seems to have grown to mythical proportions. I can't thank the organizer and participants enough for their generosity and insight. I'm truly blessed to know these individuals.
 
What a neat tasting...I've not had a Chave Blanc prior to 1983 so the note on '78 was interesting...I have been lucky enough to have the '90 Rouge 3 or 4 times and it was truly amazing ...the '89 can often rival this in quality if one is lucky...I have found the '83 and '88 quite good and I was pleased with an '82 Rouge at Berns in Tampa a couple of years ago..thanks also for the update on the '97 Blanc... we are drinking Rhones all weekend and I had decided against opening this one on the premise that it might be closed...the '90 Blanc I had a while back was also underwhelming...I'm surprised that the Jaboulet could even stay in the same room...I have most of a case and although it is good, it is not in the same league as Chave

I'm up to over 60 bottles of Chave in the cellar from several vintages and notes such as these make me want to search out even more...fortunately, Hart Davis Hart and Flickinger (both in Chicago) frequently have various back vintages for $200-250
 
I was a lucky sob. The price tag on the '78 was $49, purchased on release and stored ideally since, by the originl owner. I probably should have noted the importer, but I think all of the older ones were Kermit's. The only older Chave I've tried was the '74 Blanc with about the same age in bottle when popped. I recall a nice mature wine. The Jaboulet was really a nice drink, albiet in very different style. More density, power and exuberance when compared to Chave. But I agree, Chave is more my style too.
 
1988 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
This was a very good bottle just not great. Bretty, herbal and green aromatics. Some balance issues with is wine with the acidity poking out which comprimised the length. Compared to its counterparts, the weakest of the reds.
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With the caveat that tastes (and bottles) vary, I find your lack of enthusiasm for this wine surprising. I haven't had its flightmates that I can recall, but the '88 ranks first in my memory, outclassing the '83, '85 and '91, though all three of those were fine wines, too.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
1988 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage
This was a very good bottle just not great. Bretty, herbal and green aromatics. Some balance issues with is wine with the acidity poking out which comprimised the length. Compared to its counterparts, the weakest of the reds.
Click to expand...

With the caveat that tastes (and bottles) vary, I find your lack of enthusiasm for this wine surprising. I haven't had its flightmates that I can recall, but the '88 ranks first in my memory, outclassing the '83, '85 and '91, though all three of those were fine wines, too.

Mark Lipton
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YMMV. Apparently that caveat applies. In fact, I believe Mr. Shiverick at one point commented that it was "so 1988", meaning hard, rough, green, tannic and just angry in nature. Of the few 88 Red Burgs I've tried, not many were unlike this. Don't really drink Bordeaux. The most memorable '88 for me was Vieux Telegraph about 2-3 yrs ago.
 
I don't want to go down the Chave vintage bingo road again, learned my lesson there. But I have had and thoroughly enjoyed several bottles of 1988 Chave Hermitage (rouge). However, maybe I like them because I'm "hard, rough, green, tannic and just angry in nature". Who knows?
 
originally posted by mlawton:
I don't want to go down the Chave vintage bingo road again, learned my lesson there. But I have had and thoroughly enjoyed several bottles of 1988 Chave Hermitage (rouge). However, maybe I like them because I'm "hard, rough, green, tannic and just angry in nature". Who knows?
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At least we share some common personality traits.
 
I, too, had '88, and found it really fine. Was the one you had, Gregg, from Shiverick or from kermit?
Kermit and I shared a '78 white five or six years back, and it left me speechless. Maybe the most moving wine experience I've ever had.
 
Steve - I think it was Kermit's. I can see if the bottle is at home later on tonight. I can see how the '78 would have been glorious in it's prime. The aromas were still outrageous, but the palate was slippery.
 
It's just that 1989 is better and 1990 IS the great Chave of our lifetime. That's all.

I love the 1988. The 1990 is a vorpal weapon.
 
originally posted by VLM:
Nothing is wrong with 1988It's just that 1989 is better and 1990 IS the great Chave of our lifetime. That's all.

I love the 1988. The 1990 is a vorpal weapon.
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Goddamnit. I hate to agree with monkey boy. '89 and '90 are just better, but that said, there's been nothing rough and green about the '88. I love the '88. Elegant, maybe a more herbal in comparison to the '89 and '90, but there's plenty of black fruit in there, along with bacon. Less suave, but more packed with stuff than the '91, but I'd definitely consider '88 elegant.

Nice notes, Gregg. Thanks for sharing. I especially appreciate how the '95 La Chapelle showed as I have a bottle I'm saving for a La Chapelle vertical I want to put together sometime.

Btw, I had a great time at Palate when I was out there last July.
 
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:

it left me speechless. Maybe the most moving wine experience I've ever had.
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What is this, Steve?

Have you already forgotten about Vigneti Massa Timorasso?

I am flabergasted.
 
The '88 was not a bad wine, it just suffered among the peers in it's flight. I'm often thinking about context at tastings. Were I to have the '88 Rouge as a solo wine, I might have judged it differently.
 
originally posted by Gregg G:
The '88 was not a bad wine, it just suffered among the peers in it's flight. I'm often thinking about context at tastings. Were I to have the '88 Rouge as a solo wine, I might have judged it differently.
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That's how I read your post.
 
originally posted by Brad Kane:
originally posted by VLM:
Nothing is wrong with 1988It's just that 1989 is better and 1990 IS the great Chave of our lifetime. That's all.

I love the 1988. The 1990 is a vorpal weapon.
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Goddamnit. I hate to agree with monkey boy.
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Well don't worry aboput it, you don't really have to agree with me. I am the arbiter of truth.

The 1995 La Chapelle is meh.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:

it left me speechless. Maybe the most moving wine experience I've ever had.
Click to expand...

What is this, Steve?

Have you already forgotten about Vigneti Massa Timorasso?

I am flabergasted.
Click to expand...
When you're as old as I am you'll be flabbergasted!
 
originally posted by Brad Kane:

Goddamnit. I hate to agree with monkey boy. '89 and '90 are just better, but that said, there's been nothing rough and green about the '88. I love the '88. Elegant, maybe a more herbal in comparison to the '89 and '90, but there's plenty of black fruit in there, along with bacon. Less suave, but more packed with stuff than the '91, but I'd definitely consider '88 elegant.

Nice notes, Gregg. Thanks for sharing. I especially appreciate how the '95 La Chapelle showed as I have a bottle I'm saving for a La Chapelle vertical I want to put together sometime.

Btw, I had a great time at Palate when I was out there last July.
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The 88 was not rough, a little green, but not rough. The comment was Mr. Shiverick's regarding 1988 in France. A broad generalization obviously. In retrospect, I think the '88 Rouge was more herbal and vegetal and mostly directed at the aromatics. Green, in terms of phenolic ripeness was not my intention.

And Palate is about a mile from my home. I store wine 4 floors up. We are there often. OB1 and Steve are the best.
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
originally posted by Gregg G:
The price tag on the '78 was $49, purchased on release
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Nah! Kermit sold it for $150/case -- see Inspiring Thirst, p.51.
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Steve & Claude-I found the bottle and sure enough there is $49.99 tag on it. I believe it was bought at JBL's father's store in HB. Gougers.
 
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