charvin 2005

[Jonathan Loesberg]

This was a vintage about which I was hopefully skeptical, or skeptically hopeful. It seemed to have the hard tannins of the 95. I am unwilling to make any generalizations based on one wine but Laurent Charvin was kind enough to open this for Gail and me when we visited a couple of weeks ago and, like his 2001, it is showing wonderfully, fresh, young and vibrant. Charvin, who was originally not high on this wine (of the big name years, he is high on his 98, 01 and now 05, but distinctly not a fan of his 03 and 07; slut that I am, I like them too, especially compared with the competition)opened it to show us why he had changed his mind. I don't know about other 05s, but I will be opening these earlier than I expected and with greater pleasure.

I have said this before, by the way, but I think Laurent Charvin is one of the most interesting people to talk about wine with I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. That he makes wine I love is becoming a plus, rather than the other way around. So what I say about the wines maybe should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Yule Kim]

Welcome back Jonathan. I'm glad to hear that you had a restful and enjoyable vacation.

Interesting to hear that Charvin didn't get the memo that '07 was the Vintage of the Millennium. We should get him an iPhone.

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by Yule Kim:
Welcome back Jonathan. I'm glad to hear that you had a restful and enjoyable vacation.

Interesting to hear that Charvin didn't get the memo that '07 was the Vintage of the Millennium. We should get him an iPhone.

He got the memo. He just wrote one of his own to respond.

 

[Asher]

Thanks for the report. Apart from one bottle very early on, my case is sleeping. I think that '07 may be the vintage where Charvin may begin to slip away, thanks to Robert Parker's mega score. Current vintage is now around $75.

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by Asher:
Thanks for the report. Apart from one bottle very early on, my case is sleeping. I think that '07 may be the vintage where Charvin may begin to slip away, thanks to Robert Parker's mega score. Current vintage is now around $75.

Mark-ups on megascoring 07s are all over the place. Charvin's price at the domaine is still quite reasonable. I expect, given that they will lack support from Parker, the 08s will sell more at 06 prices. And while Parker has always liked Charvin and always given him high marks, because he doesn't make 10/40 motor oil, he never quite elicits the hysteria of other brands except in vintages like 03 and 07, where even with his best efforts, because he still works with what his vineyards give him, he produces a big-gun Parker wine.

If you have a case, try a bottle of the 05. It will surprise you.