Kräftiges Goldgelb. Offene Nase, reifer Apfel, Tarte, Zimt, mineralische Noten, jedoch auch etwas Kleber, flüchtige Säure? Im Gaumen dicht, konzentriert, ein Mund voll Wein, nicht überladen, die Säurestruktur stimmt, der Alkohol ist wahrnehmbar. Würziger Abgang, sehr gute Länge, salziges Finish. Ein interessanter Wein, jedoch nicht auf dem Niveau, das man von dieser Klasse erwarten könnte. Bis 2030+
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Nose toasted on flint. It will gradually develop to become honeyed.
Mouth of incredible richness. And yet, the touch is silky, it's wax, but with a very fine acidity to tender this enormous juice on a magnificent bouquet of flavors such as tangerine, orange, pear and walnut. The wine refines in the glass, it becomes more floral, with a hint of oxidation and sweet herbs. What finesse for such a rich wine! Impressive finish that coats the throat for long minutes on the white flowers.
Impressive.
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J.L. Chave Hermitage vertical tasting (Freiheit Vinothek, Ulm, Germany): Double decanted some hours before. Clear, deep golden colour. Beautiful smoky nose, very complex and deep with some ripe fruit and lime peel. On the palate very fresh and completely different from 2011 and 2012. Never fat or chubby. Wonderful tension, great structure and balance. Very long and complex finish. Way better bottle than my previous one. Close to greatness. 94-95
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started drinking 30 minutes after decanting, with a huge nose of toast and flint, along with some sweet vanilla underneath. Beautiful, buttery and silky smooth. Absolutely stunning starting from 10 minutes in and remained so for the rest of the evening.
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This was drank next to a 1989 which showed the winemaking evolution. Both bottles were excellent showing the crystalline precision of the wines with white fruits and a long finish.
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Quite possibly the finest white wine I've ever tasted. Impossibly rich, hedonistic, almost decadent. Had it had a touch more acid, I'd have rated it a perfect score.
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One of the greatest white wines I have ever tasted, and I've tasted a few. Luxurious, rich, with a finish that goes on and on.
It was my only bottle and boy, am I sad. This wine has a long life ahead of it, so one can drink it now or hold for the very long term. An absolutely beautiful wine. I don't like the point system, but gave this 99 because somehow it looks better than 100.
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Pronounced nose intensity with notes of ‘glue’, apricot, pear, mandarin orange, medium+ acidity and bitter after taste. Its a totally different experience of white as compare to Burgundy or Bordeaux. To me, its either you love it or hate it wine.
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BYO Xmas (Admiralgade): Seems to have matured a bit but in a very good way. Not hugely acidic but just enough to balance the clean and pure fruit. This is just an amazing and beautiful wine!!!
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This Chave showed already quite a few oxidative notes which tempered the experience of what would have been a nicely aged wine with first tertiary aromas complementing the yellow fruit and floral aromas underneath. Given that these wines are supposed to drink great for decades and other Northern Rhone whites which showed much fresher and younger, this bottle likely had a Premox problem, not the first white Chave... unfortunately. As they‘re so spectacular when young, I tend to advise to drink them in the first 7 years.
TN: Rich nose with apples, nutty notes, woody notes and hints of oxidation. On the palate lots of yellow fruit, brioche, nuts, floral notes and sadly again more and more oxidation notes. Not the complexity, precision of the best ones, no oomph-factor but a fine creamy structure and a good concentration with good length.
Decanting: Not decanted and followed over an evening, half of the bottle decanted (to try to get rid of the oxidation notes) which brought no improvement.
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Second Zoom tasting – Chave Hermitage (Mi Casa): Medium expressive nose displaying slightly coiled rich yellow fruit, white peach, dry pineapple, lemon oil, strong honey, salt toffee, a hint of anise, spicy spices, lanoline and wet stone. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of dense yellow fruit, rich, creamy and unctuous, medium acidity yet strong mineral expression provides a very good balance and precision, and a medium to long coiled yellow fruit driven finish with sea salt and honey at the end. There is a hint of heat. It is an incredibly concentrated and very serious wine, perhaps too serious. I have no clue when this will reach the peak. Intellectually stimulating but not much fun.
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Tasting with some crazy geeks (@Private location, Solingen): *** Brief notes for my own memory, no CT rating. Points expressed are only rough guidelines *** Popped and poured. What a disappointment! Should have decanted it, because it was way better balanced after 4+h. Fat, alcoholic monster, no signs of elegance at the beginning. Later it started to show its qualities, but far from being great ☹ 90-91
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Terrific and seems to be fully mature though in no danger of decline soon. Complex bouquet of chalk, peach, banana leaf, anise, a little honey, smoke, petrol. Taste is apricot and caramel with strong minerality. Great backbone of acidity that is in perfect harmony with fruit. A big wine, not overly sweet at all, very well balanced. Served slightly on the colder side but as it warmed in the glass it did not change much, or get unbalanced (or more focused). Very well made. Score : 94. Relative to expectations:+
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This wine was immediately alive after pouring from the bottle. White peach, pitted fruit and a long mouth coating finish. This wine lives up to its pedigree from an outstanding vintage. The wine holds up perfectly with all sorts of food due to it being powerful and full bodied. I especially enjoyed it with Asian Fusion food.
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Soft, rich and charming, easy going, a bit fat, lots of butter here - and I love it. Will not live as long as the 2010, but you have to be a very strict Lutheran to dislike this. #HSA
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Beautiful luscious nose of hazelnut,white peach,lemon peel,white flowers and beeswax.Wonderful tastefull rich attack with lots of flavours,excellent depth and very nice acidity and minerality.Full-bodied with great structure and length,this was singing.Great stuff.
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not at all oxidized, like i was expecting. the color is light gold or dark straw and the nose is redolent of spicy orange zest, apricots, nuts and peaches. On the palate the wine is mouth-coating and packed with flavor with a touch of bitterness at the finish, which goes on for almost a minute. Good acidity and balance. A wonderful white wine.
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Monthly tasting club "The Tasting Club" Jan 2019 Wines with high professional scores (@ PD): Extremely beautiful and complex bouquet with creamy yellow fruits, caramel and butter candy. On the palate the same impressions, a touch of pleasant sweetness, beautiful acidity and a pleasant dose of oak. Truly great wine. Just smelling is almost enough. Great and harmonious wine. Improves during the evening and in the glass. Just great! 97 – 99.
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2019 New Years Day Tasting (Milton, GA): Mine; opened and poured a small taste out and slow-oxed for 3+ hours; brighter amber color; nutty nose, slight Sherry quality, apricot, peach, somewhat preserved, honeyed, mineral, waxy, broad and rich with good penetration, candied orange, powerful, some bitter mineral or some phenolics, honeysuckle, honey, peaches, white flowers, apricot, lanolin, nutty, complex, tart Sherry note on finish, very full bodied; tasting blind only Hermitage Blanc (someone like Chave) would make sense to me but would have guessed possibly '05-'07; honestly this was a great wine but if 100 point Chave is the zenith I have to say N Rhone whites may not fit my taste preference.
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This is absolutely a spectacular bottle of wine. One experienced taster at the dinner table remarked at the level of complexity of this wine. If there's a better expression of Marsanne and Roussanne I haven't had it.
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Wow, this may be the most complex white wine I have ever tasted! Rich, concentrated fruit with great acidity. Peaches, melons, citrus, with some minerality, earthiness, nuts, honey, and floral in the nose. Citrus, pears, apricots, and minerality in the flavor. Full bodied, perfectly balanced, and a long lingering finish. Lots of time in the bottle. I suspect it will continue to improve for many years, and probably should warrant a perfect score in the future. Absolutely delicious.
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A lazy Sunday afternoon Chave lunch (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): This particular bottle has entered the dormant period. The darkest color of the flight. Medium expressive nose displaying deeply tone yellow fruit, grapefruit, orange marmalade, lemon oil, cracker jack, candied pecans, a hint of vin jaune, sweet spices and crushed rock. Excellent concentration, unctuous, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral and a long ripe yellow fruit and sweet spices driven finish. There is a hint of heat which is not unusual in Rhone whites. It is a big scale ripe wine that needs to be cellared for a decade or two.
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Dinner@Happolati. Our third wine, following Sauzet 08 Bienvenues-BM. No decant, though bottle had been kept open for a couple of hours. In a sense this wine started where the BBM ended, though for the Chave pretty much all switches were on... Great concentration. Honey, wax, lemon, tropical fruits, minerals. Slightly nutty. Long finish. A big wine. Some heat in the finish which I disliked. Must add that the food match in this case was not that great. Huge potential so look forward to my own bottles over the coming decades. 93-94p for now.
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i downgraded to 99 pts just because i'm uncomfortable with the conclusion that there may not be a better white Hermitage out there somewhere. A light golden hue and a nose of stone fruits, spice and honey greet the drinker with a luscious oily mouthfeel akin to the weight and viscosity of 10W-30 motor oil. The multi-layered flavors linger for minutes. This is unbelievable and incapable of description in ordinary language.
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Showing much better than when last tasted a few years ago. The wine is intense, powerful, concentrated, vibrant and fresh, with load of sweet, slightly honeyed lemon, grapefruit, flowers and stone notes. Luscious in texture, the wine leaves a long impression of fruit and freshness.
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Klar, lett gyllen strågul. Generøs, dyp og tiltalende nese med høymoden gulfrukt, sitronolje, nektarin, hvit pære, voks og krydder. Bløt, fet, dyp, aromatisk og konsentrert frukt, men ikke helt lineær. Følger nesen. Mild syre. Tørr utang med god lengde.
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Wine Education Service - The Northern Rhône (LSE): Intense, greenish, silvery gold. A sweet delicate bouquet. Honeyed, apricots, fruity, mineral, complex, needs to integrate, so needs 3-5 years, potential for greatness
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An amazing wine. Depth, oil, and wax like a Cdp blanc but with acids, seashells, and no cloying mouthfeel. A streak of pineapple off the grill drizzled with honey sprinkled with salty nuts. Rocked with baked Camembert drizzled with honey on a slice of bread. Out of my price range but if I'm ever gonna splurge on a white this will be at the top of my list. Would love to tuck one away and try with some serious age.
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The GP's birthday; 17 special bottles: Not so many notes, but this is an extremely youthful and great wine. Butter candy, concentrated and soft yellow fruits, good oak and bitterness. Good freshness. Enormous length. I love this baby.
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Glengarry Wines - "Superstars of the Rhone Valley" tasting (Glengarry Wines and Spirits, Victoria Park, Auckland, New Zealand): Essence of marsanne - pear, apple liqueur there is tremendous depth to the nose that hints at the complexities yet to come with age. On the palate, beautifully modulated 30 second finish that hints at walnut flavors. High alcohol but beautifully proportioned, this is very young and should close down in the near future. I see this aging very much like the 1990 (tasted over the weekend) has. 95+++
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Alcohol :: 14.5% Opened for 60mins and drank over lunch for 2hrs. Bright golden. Outstandingly great wine here. This is immediately seductive and captivating when I first sniffed it. It is THAT fragrance with great focus and enormous depth but yet the finesse and elegance is there. Sweet melon, peach intermixed with honey suckle, chrysanthemum and saline complexity. When the wine get warmer honey, almond and marmalade notes showing in the core. Can the palate match up with the extraordinary nose here? No problem at all and in fact, the palate is something to die for. It is exceptionally rich, deep and concentrated but perfectly balance and delineated. Layer and layer of sweet rich fruits accompany by stunningly rich saline mineral that coated and numb the palate with silently. So salivating, lively and transparently that my mind telling me to drink drink and drink.... It is sweet but the saline infused finished is so pure and dry, with super length that last more than a minute. My mind get thrilled and emotion got seduce.... Amazing and this is by far the best white wine in 2013. I'm welcome for other wine that can beat this, of course. 96-98+
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MORE FRUIT FORWARD THAN EXPECTED, CLEARLY NEEDS PLENTY OF TIME. FLORAL, TROPICAL FRUITS AND A TOUCH OF VANILLA IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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Deep yellow in color, the wine is rich, full bodied with minerality, citrus, melon, floral, honey, spice and a touch of banana, the 2009 JL Chave Hermitage Blanc is plush, balanced and mouth filling.
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Acker Merrall June 2012 Chicago Auction (Waldorf Astoria - Chicago IL): Just released, so this was first tasting since a barrel sample at the Domaine in September 2010. Fat and lush stone fruit aromas with some allspice, clove and ginger. Great textures with an unctuous mouth feel and a rich, oily, powerful finish. Beautiful today with great balance start-to-finish.
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Domaine J.-L. Chave Cellar Visit, Tasting and Lunch (Hermitage): Tasted from four casks that will go into the Hermitage. Overall I think the 2009 will be a powerful vintage than the 2008s just tasted, with more concentration and great ageworthiness, even if perhaps a bit less finesse. I am quite enthusiastic about where this wine will be in a couple of years at release, but then again after 12-15 years in the cellar.
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3/1/2024 - vvWine.ch wrote: 88 Points
Kräftiges Goldgelb. Offene Nase, reifer Apfel, Tarte, Zimt, mineralische Noten, jedoch auch etwas Kleber, flüchtige Säure? Im Gaumen dicht, konzentriert, ein Mund voll Wein, nicht überladen, die Säurestruktur stimmt, der Alkohol ist wahrnehmbar. Würziger Abgang, sehr gute Länge, salziges Finish. Ein interessanter Wein, jedoch nicht auf dem Niveau, das man von dieser Klasse erwarten könnte. Bis 2030+
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7/5/2023 - Rdcyyc wrote: flawed
Oxidized to the point of being undrinkable. Ugh, so disappointed.
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5/28/2023 - AudunG wrote: 95 Points
Dark yellow, with aromas of citrus and honey. No oxidative aromas at all. Enormously fat, rich and concentrated. Impressive!
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11/23/2022 - Benoit Hardy Likes this wine: 97 Points
Nose toasted on flint. It will gradually develop to become honeyed.
Mouth of incredible richness. And yet, the touch is silky, it's wax, but with a very fine acidity to tender this enormous juice on a magnificent bouquet of flavors such as tangerine, orange, pear and walnut. The wine refines in the glass, it becomes more floral, with a hint of oxidation and sweet herbs. What finesse for such a rich wine! Impressive finish that coats the throat for long minutes on the white flowers.
Impressive.
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10/15/2022 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 95 Points
J.L. Chave Hermitage vertical tasting (Freiheit Vinothek, Ulm, Germany): Double decanted some hours before. Clear, deep golden colour. Beautiful smoky nose, very complex and deep with some ripe fruit and lime peel.
On the palate very fresh and completely different from 2011 and 2012. Never fat or chubby. Wonderful tension, great structure and balance. Very long and complex finish. Way better bottle than my previous one. Close to greatness. 94-95
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9/7/2022 - millesime66 wrote: 96 Points
C'est grandiose!
Puissant, légèrement oxydé, jaune presque doré, pas acide du tout, large et long.
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5/31/2022 - Peech Likes this wine: 98 Points
started drinking 30 minutes after decanting, with a huge nose of toast and flint, along with some sweet vanilla underneath. Beautiful, buttery and silky smooth. Absolutely stunning starting from 10 minutes in and remained so for the rest of the evening.
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11/24/2021 - LB88 wrote: 95 Points
This was drank next to a 1989 which showed the winemaking evolution. Both bottles were excellent showing the crystalline precision of the wines with white fruits and a long finish.
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6/12/2021 - SpitzNV Likes this wine: 99 Points
Quite possibly the finest white wine I've ever tasted. Impossibly rich, hedonistic, almost decadent. Had it had a touch more acid, I'd have rated it a perfect score.
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5/7/2021 - 1976Lafite wrote: 99 Points
One of the greatest white wines I have ever tasted, and I've tasted a few. Luxurious, rich, with a finish that goes on and on.
It was my only bottle and boy, am I sad. This wine has a long life ahead of it, so one can drink it now or hold for the very long term. An absolutely beautiful wine. I don't like the point system, but gave this 99 because somehow it looks better than 100.
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2/22/2021 - Sean Tay wrote: 96 Points
Pronounced nose intensity with notes of ‘glue’, apricot, pear, mandarin orange, medium+ acidity and bitter after taste. Its a totally different experience of white as compare to Burgundy or Bordeaux. To me, its either you love it or hate it wine.
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11/21/2020 - canan wrote: 97 Points
BYO Xmas (Admiralgade): Seems to have matured a bit but in a very good way. Not hugely acidic but just enough to balance the clean and pure fruit.
This is just an amazing and beautiful wine!!!
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10/10/2020 - Zweder wrote: 98 Points
Bordeaux 1996 Left bank versus 1998 Right bank (more or less) (By SK In Vught Aan het Fornuis): What a feast again to taste this wine! Beautiful and exclusive, luxurious bouquet with bees wax and impressions of fireworks. On the palate the same impressions, very full bodied and buttery, but also good mineral impressions. I love it now and probably 10+ years from now.
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8/28/2020 - Marcel NZ wrote: 98 Points
Mature gold but no oxidation, Honey/nutty bouquet .
Ripe stone fruit but dry intense finish- drinking so well now would not risk downside
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7/23/2020 - Cailles wrote: 93 Points
This Chave showed already quite a few oxidative notes which tempered the experience of what would have been a nicely aged wine with first tertiary aromas complementing the yellow fruit and floral aromas underneath. Given that these wines are supposed to drink great for decades and other Northern Rhone whites which showed much fresher and younger, this bottle likely had a Premox problem, not the first white Chave... unfortunately. As they‘re so spectacular when young, I tend to advise to drink them in the first 7 years.
TN: Rich nose with apples, nutty notes, woody notes and hints of oxidation. On the palate lots of yellow fruit, brioche, nuts, floral notes and sadly again more and more oxidation notes. Not the complexity, precision of the best ones, no oomph-factor but a fine creamy structure and a good concentration with good length.
Decanting: Not decanted and followed over an evening, half of the bottle decanted (to try to get rid of the oxidation notes) which brought no improvement.
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5/20/2020 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Second Zoom tasting – Chave Hermitage (Mi Casa): Medium expressive nose displaying slightly coiled rich yellow fruit, white peach, dry pineapple, lemon oil, strong honey, salt toffee, a hint of anise, spicy spices, lanoline and wet stone. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of dense yellow fruit, rich, creamy and unctuous, medium acidity yet strong mineral expression provides a very good balance and precision, and a medium to long coiled yellow fruit driven finish with sea salt and honey at the end. There is a hint of heat. It is an incredibly concentrated and very serious wine, perhaps too serious. I have no clue when this will reach the peak. Intellectually stimulating but not much fun.
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1/10/2020 - NoTrollingerPlease Does not like this wine:
Tasting with some crazy geeks (@Private location, Solingen): *** Brief notes for my own memory, no CT rating. Points expressed are only rough guidelines ***
Popped and poured. What a disappointment! Should have decanted it, because it was way better balanced after 4+h. Fat, alcoholic monster, no signs of elegance at the beginning. Later it started to show its qualities, but far from being great ☹ 90-91
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12/1/2019 - JJYoyo Likes this wine: 94 Points
Terrific and seems to be fully mature though in no danger of decline soon. Complex bouquet of chalk, peach, banana leaf, anise, a little honey, smoke, petrol. Taste is apricot and caramel with strong minerality. Great backbone of acidity that is in perfect harmony with fruit. A big wine, not overly sweet at all, very well balanced. Served slightly on the colder side but as it warmed in the glass it did not change much, or get unbalanced (or more focused). Very well made.
Score : 94. Relative to expectations:+
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5/4/2019 - UFGators Likes this wine: 96 Points
This wine was immediately alive after pouring from the bottle. White peach, pitted fruit and a long mouth coating finish. This wine lives up to its pedigree from an outstanding vintage. The wine holds up perfectly with all sorts of food due to it being powerful and full bodied. I especially enjoyed it with Asian Fusion food.
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4/4/2019 - beatles wrote: 96 Points
Soft, rich and charming, easy going, a bit fat, lots of butter here - and I love it. Will not live as long as the 2010, but you have to be a very strict Lutheran to dislike this.
#HSA
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2/18/2019 - valedeniro wrote: 97 Points
Beautiful luscious nose of hazelnut,white peach,lemon peel,white flowers and beeswax.Wonderful tastefull rich attack with lots of flavours,excellent depth and very nice acidity and minerality.Full-bodied with great structure and length,this was singing.Great stuff.
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2/2/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
La Tablee: Celebratory Dinner (BYO) (26 Bridge Street, Brooklyn): Second vintage of these wines that we had tonight. Similar to the '05. Mouthful. Lots of honey. Lower acid. A bit intense, but still nice.
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1/18/2019 - thwacker Likes this wine: 94 Points
not at all oxidized, like i was expecting. the color is light gold or dark straw and the nose is redolent of spicy orange zest, apricots, nuts and peaches. On the palate the wine is mouth-coating and packed with flavor with a touch of bitterness at the finish, which goes on for almost a minute. Good acidity and balance. A wonderful white wine.
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1/17/2019 - Zweder wrote: 98 Points
Monthly tasting club "The Tasting Club" Jan 2019 Wines with high professional scores (@ PD): Extremely beautiful and complex bouquet with creamy yellow fruits, caramel and butter candy. On the palate the same impressions, a touch of pleasant sweetness, beautiful acidity and a pleasant dose of oak. Truly great wine. Just smelling is almost enough. Great and harmonious wine. Improves during the evening and in the glass. Just great! 97 – 99.
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1/1/2019 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 94 Points
2019 New Years Day Tasting (Milton, GA): Mine; opened and poured a small taste out and slow-oxed for 3+ hours; brighter amber color; nutty nose, slight Sherry quality, apricot, peach, somewhat preserved, honeyed, mineral, waxy, broad and rich with good penetration, candied orange, powerful, some bitter mineral or some phenolics, honeysuckle, honey, peaches, white flowers, apricot, lanolin, nutty, complex, tart Sherry note on finish, very full bodied; tasting blind only Hermitage Blanc (someone like Chave) would make sense to me but would have guessed possibly '05-'07; honestly this was a great wine but if 100 point Chave is the zenith I have to say N Rhone whites may not fit my taste preference.
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12/29/2018 - DawgByte Likes this wine: 99 Points
This is absolutely a spectacular bottle of wine. One experienced taster at the dinner table remarked at the level of complexity of this wine. If there's a better expression of Marsanne and Roussanne I haven't had it.
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12/28/2018 - buckeye76 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Wow, this may be the most complex white wine I have ever tasted! Rich, concentrated fruit with great acidity. Peaches, melons, citrus, with some minerality, earthiness, nuts, honey, and floral in the nose. Citrus, pears, apricots, and minerality in the flavor. Full bodied, perfectly balanced, and a long lingering finish. Lots of time in the bottle. I suspect it will continue to improve for many years, and probably should warrant a perfect score in the future. Absolutely delicious.
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12/1/2018 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 99 Points
Quince, white peach, mango, and minerality to spare, this was a lovely match for veggie wellington at our SATT dinner
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4/15/2018 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
A lazy Sunday afternoon Chave lunch (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): This particular bottle has entered the dormant period. The darkest color of the flight. Medium expressive nose displaying deeply tone yellow fruit, grapefruit, orange marmalade, lemon oil, cracker jack, candied pecans, a hint of vin jaune, sweet spices and crushed rock. Excellent concentration, unctuous, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral and a long ripe yellow fruit and sweet spices driven finish. There is a hint of heat which is not unusual in Rhone whites. It is a big scale ripe wine that needs to be cellared for a decade or two.
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11/20/2016 - willthethrill Likes this wine: 95 Points
Heaven in a bottle. Grass, straw, honeysuckle, so balanced. Looks and almost tastes like a Sauterne at the bottom of the bottle.
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8/5/2016 - BSA Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dinner@Happolati. Our third wine, following Sauzet 08 Bienvenues-BM. No decant, though bottle had been kept open for a couple of hours. In a sense this wine started where the BBM ended, though for the Chave pretty much all switches were on... Great concentration. Honey, wax, lemon, tropical fruits, minerals. Slightly nutty. Long finish. A big wine. Some heat in the finish which I disliked. Must add that the food match in this case was not that great. Huge potential so look forward to my own bottles over the coming decades. 93-94p for now.
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9/1/2015 - thwacker Likes this wine: 99 Points
i downgraded to 99 pts just because i'm uncomfortable with the conclusion that there may not be a better white Hermitage out there somewhere. A light golden hue and a nose of stone fruits, spice and honey greet the drinker with a luscious oily mouthfeel akin to the weight and viscosity of 10W-30 motor oil. The multi-layered flavors linger for minutes. This is unbelievable and incapable of description in ordinary language.
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8/19/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Showing much better than when last tasted a few years ago. The wine is intense, powerful, concentrated, vibrant and fresh, with load of sweet, slightly honeyed lemon, grapefruit, flowers and stone notes. Luscious in texture, the wine leaves a long impression of fruit and freshness.
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8/30/2014 - -E- wrote: 92 Points
Klar, lett gyllen strågul. Generøs, dyp og tiltalende nese med høymoden gulfrukt, sitronolje, nektarin, hvit pære, voks og krydder.
Bløt, fet, dyp, aromatisk og konsentrert frukt, men ikke helt lineær. Følger nesen. Mild syre. Tørr utang med god lengde.
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8/11/2014 - tendring wrote: 94 Points
Wine Education Service - The Northern Rhône (LSE): Intense, greenish, silvery gold.
A sweet delicate bouquet.
Honeyed, apricots, fruity, mineral, complex, needs to integrate, so needs 3-5 years, potential for greatness
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3/2/2014 - Vinsant Likes this wine:
An amazing wine. Depth, oil, and wax like a Cdp blanc but with acids, seashells, and no cloying mouthfeel. A streak of pineapple off the grill drizzled with honey sprinkled with salty nuts. Rocked with baked Camembert drizzled with honey on a slice of bread. Out of my price range but if I'm ever gonna splurge on a white this will be at the top of my list. Would love to tuck one away and try with some serious age.
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12/9/2013 - Zweder Likes this wine: 95 Points
The GP's birthday; 17 special bottles: Not so many notes, but this is an extremely youthful and great wine. Butter candy, concentrated and soft yellow fruits, good oak and bitterness. Good freshness. Enormous length. I love this baby.
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10/11/2013 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
Occasional dinner group; Bordeaux 2003 plus some extras.: Beautiful and complex wine with ripe yellow fruits, good vanilla, acidity and pleasant bitterness. Very youthful and an enormous length. A great beauty!
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10/11/2013 - Strikermax wrote: 95 Points
Volle geur, bijna "Riesling-rijkdom", petroleum, rijp tropisch fruit. Erg jonge wijn, indrukwekkend. 95++
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9/10/2013 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 90 Points
Quite shut down -- to hard to discern where this will head...
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6/26/2013 - Marc wrote: 95 Points
Glengarry Wines - "Superstars of the Rhone Valley" tasting (Glengarry Wines and Spirits, Victoria Park, Auckland, New Zealand): Essence of marsanne - pear, apple liqueur there is tremendous depth to the nose that hints at the complexities yet to come with age. On the palate, beautifully modulated 30 second finish that hints at walnut flavors. High alcohol but beautifully proportioned, this is very young and should close down in the near future. I see this aging very much like the 1990 (tasted over the weekend) has. 95+++
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3/21/2013 - Sleepy Dave wrote: 96 Points
Alcohol :: 14.5%
Opened for 60mins and drank over lunch for 2hrs. Bright golden. Outstandingly great wine here. This is immediately seductive and captivating when I first sniffed it. It is THAT fragrance with great focus and enormous depth but yet the finesse and elegance is there. Sweet melon, peach intermixed with honey suckle, chrysanthemum and saline complexity. When the wine get warmer honey, almond and marmalade notes showing in the core. Can the palate match up with the extraordinary nose here? No problem at all and in fact, the palate is something to die for. It is exceptionally rich, deep and concentrated but perfectly balance and delineated. Layer and layer of sweet rich fruits accompany by stunningly rich saline mineral that coated and numb the palate with silently. So salivating, lively and transparently that my mind telling me to drink drink and drink.... It is sweet but the saline infused finished is so pure and dry, with super length that last more than a minute. My mind get thrilled and emotion got seduce.... Amazing and this is by far the best white wine in 2013. I'm welcome for other wine that can beat this, of course. 96-98+
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12/22/2012 - buckeye76 wrote: 95 Points
MORE FRUIT FORWARD THAN EXPECTED, CLEARLY NEEDS PLENTY OF TIME. FLORAL, TROPICAL FRUITS AND A TOUCH OF VANILLA IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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8/2/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Deep yellow in color, the wine is rich, full bodied with minerality, citrus, melon, floral, honey, spice and a touch of banana, the 2009 JL Chave Hermitage Blanc is plush, balanced and mouth filling.
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6/9/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Acker Merrall June 2012 Chicago Auction (Waldorf Astoria - Chicago IL): Just released, so this was first tasting since a barrel sample at the Domaine in September 2010. Fat and lush stone fruit aromas with some allspice, clove and ginger. Great textures with an unctuous mouth feel and a rich, oily, powerful finish. Beautiful today with great balance start-to-finish.
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9/11/2010 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Domaine J.-L. Chave Cellar Visit, Tasting and Lunch (Hermitage): Tasted from four casks that will go into the Hermitage. Overall I think the 2009 will be a powerful vintage than the 2008s just tasted, with more concentration and great ageworthiness, even if perhaps a bit less finesse. I am quite enthusiastic about where this wine will be in a couple of years at release, but then again after 12-15 years in the cellar.
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