Chave: "In the name of science" (Chicago, IL): Nowhere as interesting as the 1986, but very much in a similar vein where you have a waxy texture that's cut by bitterness rather than acidity. Unfortunately, the nose on this had a really unpleasant sulfurous stink/cheesy note that was really hard to get past. Especially strange that I quite liked a bottle of this wine a few years ago. These white Rhones can be maddeningly inconsistent.
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Lovely colour, mid toned but perhaps the best characteristic of this wine is the nose; smells wonderful, wax, barrel, lemon, lanolin, white flowers, marzipan but what great balance. When you taste it has that defining characteristic of white Rhone; oxidative but great acidity.
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Rhone, lots of it (Chicago, IL): Maybe there is something to be said about these old Chave blancs. Yes, it's waxy and low acid, but this is actually pretty nicely composed. There are some aromas and flavours of butterscotch here that I could see being called over-the-hill, but this doesn't have much by way of oxidative elements. Some baked apple, perhaps? In any case, this was fairly enjoyable. I'm not sure it's something I'd want a whole bottle of, but the small glass did the trick nicely.
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Medium-gold color. Lovely nose of marzipan, sherry, dried fruits and minerals. Beautiful round texture with lots of glycerin followed by soft flavors of lime and spices with a complex mineral-laden finish. Still fresh and also seems perfectly mature with lovely secondary flavors. This paired great with all kinds of food. Impressive.
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Chave at Palate (Glendale, CA.): This was different than the others. Very musty and damp, but definately not TCA. MUsty notes blew off after some time, showing petrol and some cirtrus notes. Very mineral driven and not nearly as complex as the other wines. Odd man out.
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Medium-deep golden color. Nose of marcona almonds, mushrooms, and flowers. On the palate, this is initially very sherried (oxidized) but seems to pick up some fresher notes of mineral, citrus zest, and bees' wax. After a sip of Manzanilla sherry, this seems totally fresh, so the level of oxidation is not that great. By the third glass, I found myself really liking this. The remainders held for the next day without significant additional deterioration. Drink up.
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Labor Day weekend chez Brad. (My place.): This has consistently been one of my favorite Chaves and I was thrilled to see that Chris brought it as I have one bottle left, haven't tried the wine in a few years and was wondering about its development. It's doing just fine. Better than fine, actually. It's beautifully integrated and though it's too loaded with goodness for it to have what I would call a silky texture, there's a wonderful elegance about it. Beautiful black raspberries, cassis, meat and iron flavors and aromas with just a hint of herb and black olive. Just lovely purity with nice acid levels. Yes, I do believe I'll have another pour. A.
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6/23/2022 - acyso wrote: 85 Points
Chave: "In the name of science" (Chicago, IL): Nowhere as interesting as the 1986, but very much in a similar vein where you have a waxy texture that's cut by bitterness rather than acidity. Unfortunately, the nose on this had a really unpleasant sulfurous stink/cheesy note that was really hard to get past. Especially strange that I quite liked a bottle of this wine a few years ago. These white Rhones can be maddeningly inconsistent.
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5/9/2020 - clayfu wrote:
Fu's wild ride - a blind tasting around the country with a vertical of Levet with French, Henriquez, Alfert, Carnes and Kane: fairly tired bottle, waxy , low alcohol, honey and vanilla with some fading apricot.
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5/10/2019 - coteamor wrote: 96 Points
Lovely colour, mid toned but perhaps the best characteristic of this wine is the nose; smells wonderful, wax, barrel, lemon, lanolin, white flowers, marzipan but what great balance. When you taste it has that defining characteristic of white Rhone; oxidative but great acidity.
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4/1/2019 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 92 Points
Waxy and oily, this was fresher than the '89 served alongside. Light vanilla notes on the nose. Slippery finish.
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3/10/2019 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Rhone, lots of it (Chicago, IL): Maybe there is something to be said about these old Chave blancs. Yes, it's waxy and low acid, but this is actually pretty nicely composed. There are some aromas and flavours of butterscotch here that I could see being called over-the-hill, but this doesn't have much by way of oxidative elements. Some baked apple, perhaps? In any case, this was fairly enjoyable. I'm not sure it's something I'd want a whole bottle of, but the small glass did the trick nicely.
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2/21/2017 - mdefreitas wrote: flawed
Rhone Dinner @The Shish Kebab House (West Hartford, CT): Corked.
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11/26/2013 - affordableCollector wrote: 86 Points
golden, in color. dried fruit, burnt match, river rock, chalk, dried earth, on the nose. low-medium acid, on the finish.
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11/26/2013 - europat55 wrote: 92 Points
Top Rhones Whites (tasted blind) (Tom's house in Palo Alto, California): Very rustic nose. Bretty upon opening, but it burned off a little with time in the glass (A-/A). Excellent palate. Medium finish. (B++/A-)
My #2, Group's #9 (131 pts). Tasted blind.
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12/17/2012 - dream wrote: 93 Points
Medium-gold color. Lovely nose of marzipan, sherry, dried fruits and minerals. Beautiful round texture with lots of glycerin followed by soft flavors of lime and spices with a complex mineral-laden finish. Still fresh and also seems perfectly mature with lovely secondary flavors. This paired great with all kinds of food. Impressive.
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1/24/2010 - gregg g wrote:
Chave at Palate (Glendale, CA.): This was different than the others. Very musty and damp, but definately not TCA. MUsty notes blew off after some time, showing petrol and some cirtrus notes. Very mineral driven and not nearly as complex as the other wines. Odd man out.
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12/28/2009 - fredb wrote:
Medium-deep golden color. Nose of marcona almonds, mushrooms, and flowers. On the palate, this is initially very sherried (oxidized) but seems to pick up some fresher notes of mineral, citrus zest, and bees' wax. After a sip of Manzanilla sherry, this seems totally fresh, so the level of oxidation is not that great. By the third glass, I found myself really liking this. The remainders held for the next day without significant additional deterioration. Drink up.
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9/6/2009 - BradKNYC wrote:
Labor Day weekend chez Brad. (My place.): This has consistently been one of my favorite Chaves and I was thrilled to see that Chris brought it as I have one bottle left, haven't tried the wine in a few years and was wondering about its development. It's doing just fine. Better than fine, actually. It's beautifully integrated and though it's too loaded with goodness for it to have what I would call a silky texture, there's a wonderful elegance about it. Beautiful black raspberries, cassis, meat and iron flavors and aromas with just a hint of herb and black olive. Just lovely purity with nice acid levels. Yes, I do believe I'll have another pour. A.
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4/8/2008 - Rupert wrote: 90 Points
Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc vertical 1984-2005 (Institute of Directors, London): Damp, petrol nose, lime, minerals, lighter bodied, nicely silky
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8/12/2005 - Eric wrote: flawed
Wrap-up dinner at Butterfield9 (Washington DC): Corked!
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4/26/2005 - PhDP wrote: 82 Points
Hermitage blanc JL Chave (INAO Vin-Passion, Bruxelles, Belgium): Nez vaguement vulgaire, curry, sec, safran,
Bouche asséchante, boisé pas très net, peu de plaisir, acidité minérale, amertume
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8/10/2004 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Peaches, toast, pears and floral aromas on the nose. Big, full-bodied wine. Nice weighty mouth feel.
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5/8/1993 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
Chave/Clape tasting (Okhuysen, Haarlem, Netherlands): Youthful lemon colour; approaches the richness of the 1989, but fresher and not as deep; medium weight, elegant, supple; excellent length.
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