Unusual nose for a Chave, with some ripe fruit compote, but also a bit of a cheesy sour note that's at best unattractive. Coming back later, it's distinctly the smell of Cheez-It crackers from the box; quite ripe on the palate, frankly that's about it, ripe, sweet, high toned fruit, I'm struggling to find any depth or complexity, though it's well balanced for what it is, with decent acidity, and some medium fine tannins. My prediction is that this just falls apart with age. Victim of the vintage, falling well short of the standards set for this wine.
Coming back to this again a couple hours later, though it had already seen plenty of air. Yep, still has the distinct Cheez-It note, goldfish crackers. Sweet and ripe on the palate. Nothing like the insanely rich and ripe 2003 model on release, but no one would guess this to be a young Chave. Comes right up to the line of being syrupy, but doesn’t quite cross it. If this were a $30 Paso wine, I’d probably be happy with my purchase, but it’s a $300 Rhone benchmark.
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Drank from magnum at Carbone a few nites ago. Notes from memory: Group Vegas dinner and wouldn't you know it one of our crowd bumps into an old pal, who happens to be Ed Sheeran, and he treated us to this lovely. Brief decant, unfortunately. There's black cherries and plums here in good amount. Also, lots of spice. Lovely, silky long finish. This is a bit, yet elegant, meaty, sexy wine that, while still quite young, is showing very nicely at present. I'd not touch this wine again for at least 5 years, but quite delicious right now.
Tasted at a retailer-sponsored tasting in NYC. Gorgeous bottle of wine that is still an infant (wine infanticide?) Rich, dark, clearly new oak-influenced. Near perfect balance, however. Beautiful fruit, dark plum, black cherry, spices, game meat. Great depth and length. Plenty of "stuffing". Needs aging to be at its best in my view. But, this is a beauty that will only get better in a good cellar.
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"Imposter Night" (Los Olivos, CA): Served blind as the authentic Northern Rhone entry alongside an "imposter" from Jonata. I struggled to enjoy more than a few sips of this wine, which came across as overly polished and manipulated. Some wondered if it wasn't Pinot, in fact. Maybe with time that serves this wine well, but it does seem to be an awfully big contrast with the older Chaves I have previously enjoyed so thoroughly. I pegged it as entry level Chapoutier rather than being from elsewhere.
Whoa. Toasty, rich, generous, and sexy. Such a crazy and explosive nose. On the palate, you're met with tons of blue fruit, florals, insane freshness, and layers of pleasure. Crazy that it's this good on release. I wasn't expecting much from the 18 so early on, but this absolutely exceeded expectations.
Definitely reloading.
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Sunday hangout (Chicago, IL): #14357. This is probably the biggest and heaviest version of the Chave Hermitage I've yet tasted. It is a monumentally fruity wine -- I served this blind to a few friends and guesses were all over the place because of how much the fruit eclipsed the rest of the savoury syrah/Hermitage characteristics. I can't say they were particularly off base either -- this wine started out as just a massive amalgamation of fruit. A few hours in, I felt that a little more character had started to develop with a hint of smoke (or was that the Benton's I was cooking with) and salinity. If you're looking for the green, herbal elements of something like 2004, you won't find them here. Of the most recent few vintages I tasted on release, this is the most like the 2015, but with fruit that is a little more tinted towards the red and much more plummy. At the same time, there is structure here, though it is hidden by the roils of fruit. Unusually for a Chave Hermitage, the finish has an alcoholic bite which is likely explained by the 15% notation on the label. All in all, this wine matches my expectations of the vintage, even if I hope that the syrah characteristics I love become more prominent with time. Since producers have generally gotten better and better at handling extremely hot years, I purchased my usual quantity this vintage, but unless someone is generous enough to share a bottle of this with me in the next decade or so, I feel especially strongly that there is little more value to derive from opening another bottle of mine until that decade is up.
10/1/2023 - alanr wrote: 88 Points
Unusual nose for a Chave, with some ripe fruit compote, but also a bit of a cheesy sour note that's at best unattractive. Coming back later, it's distinctly the smell of Cheez-It crackers from the box; quite ripe on the palate, frankly that's about it, ripe, sweet, high toned fruit, I'm struggling to find any depth or complexity, though it's well balanced for what it is, with decent acidity, and some medium fine tannins. My prediction is that this just falls apart with age. Victim of the vintage, falling well short of the standards set for this wine.
Coming back to this again a couple hours later, though it had already seen plenty of air. Yep, still has the distinct Cheez-It note, goldfish crackers. Sweet and ripe on the palate. Nothing like the insanely rich and ripe 2003 model on release, but no one would guess this to be a young Chave. Comes right up to the line of being syrupy, but doesn’t quite cross it. If this were a $30 Paso wine, I’d probably be happy with my purchase, but it’s a $300 Rhone benchmark.
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7/1/2023 - cephomer Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank from magnum at Carbone a few nites ago. Notes from memory: Group Vegas dinner and wouldn't you know it one of our crowd bumps into an old pal, who happens to be Ed Sheeran, and he treated us to this lovely.
Brief decant, unfortunately. There's black cherries and plums here in good amount. Also, lots of spice. Lovely, silky long finish. This is a bit, yet elegant, meaty, sexy wine that, while still quite young, is showing very nicely at present. I'd not touch this wine again for at least 5 years, but quite delicious right now.
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6/21/2023 - oldwines Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tasted at a retailer-sponsored tasting in NYC. Gorgeous bottle of wine that is still an infant (wine infanticide?) Rich, dark, clearly new oak-influenced. Near perfect balance, however. Beautiful fruit, dark plum, black cherry, spices, game meat. Great depth and length. Plenty of "stuffing". Needs aging to be at its best in my view. But, this is a beauty that will only get better in a good cellar.
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3/27/2022 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Pure juicy dark fruit. Great silky texture and balance
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11/10/2021 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 91 Points
"Imposter Night" (Los Olivos, CA): Served blind as the authentic Northern Rhone entry alongside an "imposter" from Jonata. I struggled to enjoy more than a few sips of this wine, which came across as overly polished and manipulated. Some wondered if it wasn't Pinot, in fact. Maybe with time that serves this wine well, but it does seem to be an awfully big contrast with the older Chaves I have previously enjoyed so thoroughly. I pegged it as entry level Chapoutier rather than being from elsewhere.
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8/5/2021 - Satoshi Nakamoto Likes this wine: 95 Points
Whoa. Toasty, rich, generous, and sexy. Such a crazy and explosive nose. On the palate, you're met with tons of blue fruit, florals, insane freshness, and layers of pleasure. Crazy that it's this good on release. I wasn't expecting much from the 18 so early on, but this absolutely exceeded expectations.
Definitely reloading.
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5/16/2021 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Sunday hangout (Chicago, IL): #14357. This is probably the biggest and heaviest version of the Chave Hermitage I've yet tasted. It is a monumentally fruity wine -- I served this blind to a few friends and guesses were all over the place because of how much the fruit eclipsed the rest of the savoury syrah/Hermitage characteristics. I can't say they were particularly off base either -- this wine started out as just a massive amalgamation of fruit. A few hours in, I felt that a little more character had started to develop with a hint of smoke (or was that the Benton's I was cooking with) and salinity. If you're looking for the green, herbal elements of something like 2004, you won't find them here. Of the most recent few vintages I tasted on release, this is the most like the 2015, but with fruit that is a little more tinted towards the red and much more plummy. At the same time, there is structure here, though it is hidden by the roils of fruit. Unusually for a Chave Hermitage, the finish has an alcoholic bite which is likely explained by the 15% notation on the label. All in all, this wine matches my expectations of the vintage, even if I hope that the syrah characteristics I love become more prominent with time. Since producers have generally gotten better and better at handling extremely hot years, I purchased my usual quantity this vintage, but unless someone is generous enough to share a bottle of this with me in the next decade or so, I feel especially strongly that there is little more value to derive from opening another bottle of mine until that decade is up.
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