Jean-Louis Chave in person for E&R's 20th Anniversary, with 22 of his wines!
E&R Wine Shop, Portland OR
Tasted Friday, August 16, 2019 by David Paris (dbp) with 617 views
Introduction
What a lovely opportunity to get to drink all these wonderful wines with Jean-Louis himself! And an incredibly rare opportunity... only possible due to the personal friendship started nearly three decades ago between Jean-Louis and E&R wine shop owner, Ed. Back then it was possible to score visits to Chave just by asking... these days, with the cult of personality of both the man and these wines themselves, that's just not possible. Jean-Louis was quite remiss about this, but it's just not possible with the time available in a day. I really appreciated his humble nature about his wines, always commenting that it's simply the land that makes the wines special, not him. He's just the current generation presiding over this land, and he seemed nearly annoyed at the attention and certainly the prices his wines are commanding these days.
"We are where we are because we have what we have." -- Jean-Louis Chave regarding making wine in Hermitage. 
Flight 1 - St. Joseph (3 Notes)
During Jean-Louis' introduction to these wines he commented that "Saint Joseph" means nothing due to the massive size of this region compared to others in the Northern Rhone. The wines are hugely variable so you never know what you're going to get with that designation. He mentioned that back in the day, when the water wasn't safe to drink and everyone in the area had to drink wine all the time, Saint Joseph was their go-to. It was never supposed to be a noble wine.
Jean-Louis also mentioned, though, that since the region is so large and variable, much of which isn't planted, there's lots to learn about what works best here. He said who knows... maybe in a few generations they will find the next Chateau Grillet in the middle of it... he says "time is nothing" with these vineyards... he's been spending upwards of 30 years now planting one particular compelling, but insane slope in Saint Joseph. He seems quite interested in the potential here, despite the appellation designation not implying any particularly quality assurance. 
Flight 2 - Hermitage Blanc (9 Notes)
Jean-Louis mentioned that, particularly for the white Hermitage, the light on the vines itself is every bit as important as the heat of the day. He also mentioned that while Syrah can generally work anywhere in Hermitage, the white grapes are quite a bit more particular about where they like to be planted, and do not work well in granite. Further, he commented about how much people focus on the acidity in white wine these days, basically implying that acidity is the thing that makes a white wine lovely. I can admit I sometimes find myself mostly in love with acidity in white wine, but as he comments, white Hermitage is "NOT about the acidity; it is about the fruit." These wines "have very low acidity and very long ferments." They "age on glycerol because they don't have acidity, and they need time to find balance and definition." He says these wines need food, and they need rich food. Not light fish like people like to pair with white wines. White Hermitage requires "richly texture dishes." Like the wines, I say! He says "a two hour lunch" is perfect to consume these wines, with fat food like sweetbreads and veal. This is a white for the main course, not an appetizer, and it's a white for the winter, not summer. The wines should be served near room temperature, because "served too cold they lose texture and that's a problem."
Another thing he mentioned was how often these wines have an oxidative note, and this should not be considered a flaw. He says, "you can't expect a white wine to age without a patine." That is just what happens with these wines and adds to the character, he mentioned. He says they are often raised with quite a bit of oxidation, so it's natural. Back in the day they'd leave these wines aging in barrel for 4 years. These days it's more like 18 to 24 months, but he knows they could handle 30 months in most vintages.
There are 5 hectares of white Hermitage under vine.
Flight 3 - Hermitage Rouge (9 Notes)
Jean-Louis has 10 hectares of red under vine in Hermitage. He also mentioned that global warming is most certainly present in the vineyards, but to be honest, thus far it has had a positive benefit on the recent vintages. That said, he does seem to fear for the future. Some folks were asking about irrigation, which is supposed to not be allowed in the AOC, but it seems like some folks may be doing that to cope with the weather in less idea locals, which he did not seem to be a fan of. Someone asked how he will cope with it if the temperature does get too hot... he says they won't do anything. They certainly won't irrigate. He says, "We will just continue." If it looks like it would require irrigation to make the wine, he said then his continuing would not include any wine production.
We kept coming back to an interesting conversation regarding stem inclusion in the red. Jean-Louis mentioned that he has "never had a great Cornas without the stem and never had a great Hermitage with the stem." That said, before the winery was rich, they couldn't always destem as they didn't have the equipment, so some vintages (like the 1979 we had here) had quite a lot of stem inclusion. He did say that they sometimes tune certain vintages with a bit of stems, but generally they go without these days. He says that in Hermitage the stems often take over the wine, just as oak in some wines can overpower the wine. I liked this analogy... as he mentions, some wines can handle 100% new oak no problem, just as some wines can handle 100% whole cluster and some cannot integrate it well. Hermitage, he believes, does not integrate the whole cluster as well as Cornas.
Flight 4 (1 Note)
Closing
As always, E&R kills it with this event. What a treat to get to have Jean-Louis here in person! He is just a joy to listen to, and I just love how humble he is. I brought some bottles which I had purchased at E&R to have him sign them. It will be super fun cracking these particular bottles open in a few decades when they're ready!
2016 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Rich, thick and lush aromas. Really fat and thickly fruited on the nose, with just the slightest bit of pleasing funk present as well. The palate entry is very rich, round, and thick, offering rich tannins and sweet fruit. Quite pretty in the mouth. Wow, what a beautiful bloom of vibrant red and black fruit on the finish. Elegant acidity and beautiful structure. Really lovely how lithe this is considering how large the weight is on the nose. Very very lovey!
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2015 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph Clos Florentin 89 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Very dark color. Aromas are light in flavor, but certainly have a weight to them; just a bit hard to delineate. Soft and pretty on palate entry, with a nice round texture. Thickly fruited, with soft, very voluptuous nature with nice acidity and good cut. Quite darkly complected, though; more so than the regular St. Joseph. Rich acid on the finish, with thick, plummy fruit on the finish, but the acid is what really takes over and carries long into the finish. Feels quite young, but too darkly complected for full enjoyment.
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1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph 91 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Smells of a funky old book; perhaps fermenting raisins. Really funky and rich. Smooth palate entry, and more of that old book is present. The mouth is quite a bit prettier than expected from that funky nose, showing lovely old red fruit as well. Raspberries. Lovely mature acidity and very light tannins are felt in the mouth as well. Wow, a massive dial up of acidity on the finish which is quite rich and pretty, and the flavor itself tastes a bit like an overcooked egg yolk. That sounds weird, but it's in a very good way. Thee acid carries it very long into thee finish. I love how that lingers. I was almost put off by this wine to start, but it evolved into something quite pretty. Before even trying this wine, Jean-Louis said this was a wine meant to be drunk long, long ago. He says it has been decades since he has had this wine as he doesn't keep Saint Joseph... it's a wine meant to be drunk young, so he just plows through his stash in the early years.
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