2017 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
Community Tasting Note
WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine:
Sunday, March 6, 2022 - Nose: [58°-64°] Floral scents that give way to dark red fruits and ripe blueberries, soft gooseberries, fresh damp earth with a field of pure grass, a subtle touch of anise and damp peppery tree bark. There is also a streak of clean mineral throughout that seems to help brighten the dark aromas.
Palate: [58°-64°] Dark red fruits and berries that melds with an expansive deep earthiness on the palate, with a pleasurable bitter and burnt undertone on the mid-end palate. Just like the nose, the minerals on the palate are there from the beginning to the end, and with the help of great acidity, both really help give the flavors a bit of lift and intensity.
Attributes: Clear dark ruby with a bit of magenta. Dry with medium-plus to high amounts of strong, fine tannin. Medium to medium-plus body with medium-plus to high acidity (the acidity is well integrated). Great finish of at least 30+ seconds.
Thoughts: First bottle from Jean-Louis Chave and it did not disappoint. I did not expect this from a Syrah; so fragrant and such a unique play on the notes of fruit, earth, spices and minerals. This was so enjoyable throughout the entire tasting. I personally would enjoy this by itself as food seemed to have made the flavors wobble on their tracks at certain points. Though, this is most likely due to what I was eating during the time I was not tasting. This wine can and will age for years. Quite curious to see how this will develop over 20 years. I figure with the amount of tannin and acidity in this, 5-10 years wouldn't do much as this would probably still taste similar as it did today.
Serving notes: Bordeaux glass. Served one glass and emptied bottle into a decanter at cellar temp ~55° and consumed over 6 hours. Recommend serving ~62°-64° as the flavors became a bit flat and purple as the wine reached warmer temps (66°-68°). Decant if needed.
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2 comments have been posted
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Comment posted by MJP Hou TX:
3/7/2022 8:37:00 AM - Congrats on taking down a JLC for the first time. Such a beautiful bottle of wine. Maybe my last 17 was an off bottle as the Magnum was absolutely stunning! Cheers WBW!
Comment posted by WineBurrowingWombat:
3/7/2022 9:43:00 AM - You nailed it MJP. Not gone lie I was pretty worried popping this knowing it might be a coin flip. Thank goodness it was good!