Fully mature, this had the "converged" bouquet where aged Burgs & N. Rhones start to show similarities, w/ "dusty" dark-red cherries, earth, sous-bois & some herbs... Still energetic on the palate, with enough fruit/freshness to still propel it for some years to go; At the plateau now, doubt it'll improve further...
Heater week; 3/8/2024-3/17/2024 (Chicago, IL): Not at the level of Friday's bottle. Initially my favourite of the 80s Chaves, but this was surpassed by the 1988 later in the evening. Ripe fruit and a mix of red and black. A little dirty and not as pristine as that earlier bottle. Still, a very enjoyable bottle.
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Heater week; 3/8/2024-3/17/2024 (Chicago, IL): Can't believe it's taken me this long to come across this wine. It was a bit underwhelming at first, but despite its age, took to air very well and expanded in depth and power as the night went on. Structured more like the Juge, with black fruit and a burlier tannic presence (versus the lighter and more ethereal Jamet and Trollat), there's an incredible depth of flavour and potency here. Of course, there's plenty rusticity typical for the Chave of yore. Very impressive stuff -- I hope to cross paths with this again before long. For my palate, very much at peak.
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Gereiftes Rubin, orangenfarbene Ränder. Feinduftige Nase, Herbstlaub, getrocknete Rosen, sehr floral und verspielt, fast schon burgundisch anmutend. Im Gaumen zugänglich, noch immer mit schöner Frucht, die Tannine sind abgeschmolzen, die Säure wirkt stimmig, hier ist alles an seinem Platz, ungemein elegant, frisch und mit feiner Würze und roten Beeren im Abgang. Love it. Trinken bis 2030.
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Ready and glorious. Amazing dark savory aromatics, but somehow light and etherial on the palate. Was great on pop & pour. A reminder of how great Chave once was.
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At full maturity, if you want to understand the magic of Chave, look no further. Full, rich, concentrated, and complex, the wine is also elegant, refined, earthy, spicy, and pure, with energy and lift that propels the layers of peppery, sweet, herb, and spice-tinted red fruits over your palate. No decanting is needed, just pop, pour, and enjoy the thrill ride. Drink from 2023-2035.
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[Blind] Gorgeous bouquet, distinctively Chave right out of the gate with rose petals and a ceramic / acrylic detail, faint smoke. A bright, lifted, clean and pure example. All about the floral detail and fruit on this bottle. Among the best examples of Chave Hermitage of any vintage I have ever tried. Real energy and vibrancy on this still, the aromas leap from the glass.
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Light garnet, slightly translucent with some sediment. Nose showing old red fruits, herbs, orange zest, saline. Elegant palate showing dusted cherry, red currant, herbs, earth notes. Light and silky texture, even though it shows light to the eye/nose/palate, the fruit has persistence through the mid palate. medium weight and finish.
Truly exceptional wine. I am a big fan a Chave - getting an opportunity to drink a wine of this age and provenance was a great experience. Shows what well stored bottles can become and why the wine has a well deserved reputation for longevity...Continued to evolve in the glass over the time we drank it. Decant gets you through some of the funk when first opened.
In any other setting this would have been WOTN, my #2 behind the '55 Grange
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Northern Rhone-a-thon: This pours light garnet in the glass. This was the lightest in the glass of the whole evening, more reminiscent of Burgundy than Syrah in it's appearance. The nose is extremely expressive showing a very wild and elegant aromatic of sweaty socks, oyster, white pepper, old redwood, red currant, dried thyme, toasted cumin seed, iron, orange zest, and dried lemon rind. The palate is very light and elegant with red currant and lightly herbaceous elements. Tannin is low and acid is medium plus fanning out to a glorious finish replaying all of the nose. Just a fabulous wine that actually improved with air. On first pop you could tell this was going to be a special wine, though there were some funky characteristics that clearly needed to blow off and/or integrate into the complete package of the wine. For me, this was at its best after about an hour.
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Even if not my producer of choice in the Rhone he does make good wine and this was just wonderful and in just the right spot (in fact would say that this needs to be drunk now or near future). Very animal and metallic twang and some more bacon and all of that. Drinking really well. And smelling maybe even better. The nose was outstanding.
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M&PD Zoom Tasting: This wine was light in color and had a beautiful smokey nose. It still had fruit on the nose but not as much as a younger Chave. The same on the palate: The fruit died quickly with the earth and tannins winning out and cutting the finish short. Don't get me wrong, this was a beautiful wine; it just didn't taste like Chave to me. I knew from the tasting parameters that I was tasting a Northern Rhone, but without that I might have guessed an old Chambertin.
M&PD Zoom Tasting: Northern Rhône (Zoom): Incredible smoke. Looooong, delicate, mineral, smoke, cherry and tar. Celery seed. This is utterly gorgeous, faintly tannic and dry on the finish, but still just gorgeous.
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Drunk to celebrate a friend's birthday - the last of the case. Colour shows maturity - slightly fading. Then fruit, meat and black olive notes on nose. On palate good concentration, resolved structure, mature certainly but with time to spare, nice length. A wine with perfect pitch and much better than the sum of its parts.
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Between the '79, '78, and this tonight, I think this was the most 'complete' package as it hit the Chave aromatic high notes with the smoked meats, black olives, and rustic earth while delivering a powerful wallop of developed but fresh black and red fruit. Not as rosy and sort of hauntingly etherial as the '79 but more flashy and fleshy (relatively) than the '78, and certainly the wine with the most longevity remaining. All perfect bottles from an excellent cellar.
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This was quite enjoyable. Served with prime rib for Christmas; the color is pale garnet with a clear rim and some browning; the nose shows smoked game meat, dried red berries, leather, a bit of pepper, damp earth, and dried violet. The palate shows mostly meat and spice notes with still some chewy tannins on the back end. This is very enjoyable, though probably in a slow decline at this point as the fruit has mostly faded. Still a lovely wine
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I would have to say this was the surprise of the night. Outside of the 66 this was wine of the night for the table. Perfect color, intoxicating Chave nose of grilled meat, fire embers, pepper, ash and smoke, spices and loads of lush red berries. Concentrated and balanced. Such a treat.
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A Whole Lotta Chave Hermitage (Single Blind) (Chez Kailin): 83/88/89/90/Ringer Flight. From 375. This was tired and very clearly showing oxidation. Nose was slightly better than the watery palate. Not nearly as interesting as 750s tasted in the past few years. My #4, Group #4.
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From magnum. Fantastic bottle. None of the fading that one now often finds in 750s of this wine. Sharp red fruits, vibrant acids, and an underlying soil and mineral complexion. Very expressive spice nose
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Magnum Double decanted for sediment in the AM then SOM'd
Initially, rare meat, iron, pepper, olives, and dark fruits on the nose. With time red fruits come out. A fantastic savory more than fruit driven nose. Expansive yet focused on the palate with again more savory than fruit, yet what is so impressive is how the seemingly disparate flavors all blend seamlessly with a wonderful juxtaposition of the savory and dark fruits with the red fruits that seem to blend into the rare game and meatiness. Acidity is terrifically balanced. Incredibly deep with effortless power coupled with grace. In this format, drinking at a near perfect place right now. Terrific.
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JL Chave tasting at M&S (McCarthy & Schiering): Medium brick with orange edge. Soft with round edges. In excellent shape. Classic rich, aged Syrah. No funk. Just a hint of meatiness, but mainly a sublime, soft and enticing wine. Opened 3 hours ahead; double decanted; open in the decanter for 45 minutes, then returned and stoppered in the bottle. Just about right.
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Philly Wine Group Top French Wines Themed Dinner (The Prime Rib, Philadelphia): My last bottle purchased on release and in my cellar since...perfect cork, half stained but still tight yet supple enough to extract with ease. This bottle is another testament to to benefits of breathing wines, even (especially?) older ones. Decanted at 2pm, given 1+ hour in the decanter then poured back into the clean bottle for the trip to Philly for dinner. At the restaurant I poured it back into another decanter to await our second course. Lots of fine as well as chunky sediment. Initially it was a light to medium translucent ruby-brick color like mature burgundy. By the time we drank it around 8pm it had put on much more color and weight, less brick and more ruby, looking much younger than it did earlier. At first the nose was all about earth/sous bois and leather, gradually adding some red fruit (sour cherry especially), baking spices and finishing the night with distinct juniper berry. The acidity was still medium+ and there was still some noticeable tannin but not a lot. The palate was initially quite tart and bitter but with more air was more savory, chewier and enhanced with bacon, grilled meat and baking spice. With the beef it was much more tobacco which dominated the medium to long finish on my last few sips (earlier it was rather short). If I had scored this upon first opening it would have been 85-87 and assumed way past its prime. Thankfully we were able to experience it in all its 35+ years of splendor. Well kept bottles should be on gentle decline over the next few years I would think.
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For our Philadelphia wine club dinner at the Prime Rib. Double decanted four hours before dinner. Huge nose of juniper berries and mint. Pale translucent strawberry color in the glass. On the palate evergreen, bright berries, tannins (!) in the finish. Amazing, intellectually, but not quite delicious. Two hours later and bright red berries emerge, now delicious, with ribeye.
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Jean-Louis Chave in person for E&R's 20th Anniversary, with 22 of his wines! (E&R Wine Shop, Portland OR): Gorgeous, stewed old fruit on the nose. Meaty notion. The first "old" smelling wine of the night, but old in the beautiful sense. Very nice. The palate is rich in texture, but mellow in flavor. Certainly "older" notes here, and not quite as pure as it should be. Feels it may be losing itself a bit. Very nice acidity on the rich and round finish. Very pretty here, with a tartness that wasn't expected due to the older notes prior.
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From a half bottle (purchased on release, perfect fill just below cork) and decanted for sediment, the nose was pure fireworks out of the gates and mostly tertiary, with black tea, cinnamon, eucalyptus, green and black peppercorns. On the palate it was long and silky with savoury red fruits, salty black olives and old leather. While sublime for the first hour, it began to fade with more time in the decanter.
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Friday Night with the Beasts (The Papies, Elizabeth St, London): This is now on its last few legs and granted at this age is more the bottle than the wine still this felt on the fragile side. The nose was classic and superb Chave, meaty smoky and easily the best thing about this wine. This is a nose to savor and treasure. Unfortunately on the palate this did not follow ( No Mouline 1983 here) but still was a great experience. 92
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Northern Rhone Dinner at Marc's (DC/Silver Spring MD): Just horribly horribly stinky when opened. It gradually faded over a couple hours, but holy brett bomb. Browing rim. Once it started to blow off, the mature notes took over. Super complex, light/medium body, solid acidity, and light tannic structure. Without all the brett, this would have been much higher rated.
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Pure Chave and I'd tend to think one of the better vintages of this wine. Animal is the best word to describe. A bit all over the place. It's intense and just gripping. This was a very good bottle as well. Really outshone the old barolo we had.
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I am big Chave lover but this was very bretty. Huge brett on the nose - dusty, stank, some wet dog. Underneath lots of Hermitage spice, red berries, cherries. Better on the palate than the nose. Others liked this more than I did.
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Lost Friday afternoon gathering – Jamet, Grange des Peres, Raveneau, Chave, Pignan and etc. (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner, VA): From a half bottle. Served blind by me and some thinks Burgundy. Burgundian nose displaying subtle red fruit, dry cherry, fresh cherry, rose, pepper, beef jerky, garrigue, tapenade, cinnamon, ash and limestone. Fully resolved palate, subtle red fruit, silky and fluid, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral and a medium to long subtle red fruit driven finish with rose and mineral at the end. Although enjoyable, it needs to be drunk up.
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Lost Friday Lunch with friends (Eddie V's): Light red fruits, it reminded me of an aged Gamay, cooking spices, saline character, very good balance. Interesting in comparison to the '89.
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Medium light body, dusty fruit on the nose, missing the savory truffle notes I associate with older Chave; very pure, burgundy weight fruit, faded with age but delicious nevertheless, some air time definitely brings out more structure and a bit more complexity, but this is at the end of its life. Sacrilege to say, but I think most Rhones are not capable of lasting 30+ years, better at the 15-20 year mark where they have a little more stuffing left.
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A lazy Sunday afternoon Chave lunch (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): Fully mature classic northern rhone nose displaying subtle red fruit, strawberry jam, dry cherry, rose, a hint of mint, garrigue, ash, rare steak, tapenade and limestone. Fully resolved palate, slightly thin and short, bright acidity, strong mineral presence and a medium subtle red fruit and rare steak driven finish. The nose is still expressive but the palate is starting to fade. If you are a fan of Jamet or a member of AFWE, you will love this wine. It would be nice to try from a mag.
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Drunk at The Fine Wine Experience Domaine J-L Chave Dinner at Amuse Bouche Hong Kong - Much riper than the '85 but still retains a refined character. Concentration without extraction.
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On opening, some earthiness and funk with a somewhat rustic finish. With decanting, a beautiful sweet red fruit emerges and the wine Is everything you would hope for and expect: refined, precise, and full of pleasure.
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Pale, transparent ruby. Mature cherry, florals, and olive on the nose. Fully resolved tannins and a silky texture. This lacks some of the freshness and brightness described in other recent notes, so expect variation, but overall a gorgeous, aged Chave.
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Tasted blind: Very shy nose, smokey, soil inflected; very firm acid, in fact a little "over the top". A lot of "Vosne-ish" smoke and spice had people guessing Burgundy from Vosne. It was more burgundian than Rhone-like to me. Likely an off bottle.
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Chave Hermitage & Brisket (Chez Kailin - Northbrook IL): Served single blind alongside Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle. Fairly easy to identify which was which. Mature black cherry, sweet spice, slightly floral aromas. Similar flavors with some roasted meat. Elegant, almost silky soft tannins. Moderate power, very good length. No hurry to drink up. My favorite wine of the evening, most others agreed. Bottle with great provenance.
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Chave & Brisket (Ken's - Northbrook, IL): Served single blind and side-by-side with the '83 Jaboulet Chapelle. This was the far superior and more refined wine, and pretty easily identified as the Chave. A perfect 100 point OMG nose has an intense, detailed perfume of aged black fruit, olives, meat, mushroom, florals and old leather. The palate is similarly ethereal with light (but not quite dilute) fruit with precise balancing structure. Even though it's lighter bodied there is striking intensity of flavor. Silky and poised finish. Bravo. Double decanted ~2 hours prior to serving.
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Wonderful palate, woodsy, great color, side by side with '83 Paul Jaboulet La Chapelle, deep mouthfeel, floral with a long finish. Great start for an evening of Chave.
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When first poured, this was disappointing. Subdued fruit, nothing really and quite thin.
After 45 minutes in decanter, even the color of the wine took strength.
It came to life with full force. Wet cigartobacco, humidor, Cedar, lucious cherries and a delicious smoked ham. This is arch Syrah, no doubt about it! It just continued on and not letting down.
Man wish that I had more!
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Fully mature classic Chave nose displaying dry red fruits, raspberry, cherry, rare charred steak, dill, garrigue, flowers and limestone. Fully integrated palate, silky and polished, no noticeable tannins and a medium finish. The texture is very Burgundian. Need to be drunk up.
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Purchased on release, served blind. Crazy pure bright fruit on the palate, piercing cool acidity running through the palate. It was so fresh and lively but still had that Chave wildness lurking in the back ground ready to explode. When revealed it was pretty unbelievable that it was an 83. I had 83 375s 5 years ago that tasted 10 years older (is that 15 yrs older then?). Excellent wine, as I told R.C. , 83 is our birth year but this wine has aged significantly better than we have.
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Rare Northern Rhone Dinner (Tocqueville): Spectacular nose: acrylics, smoked meat, smoldering embers, rustic earth, and sweet tobacco. Damp coffee grounds and mocha. Sweet red cherry palate, melting tannin, and gorgeous finish. Whereas the '90 is beginning to fully bloom but clearly has gas in the tank to keep it growing and improving for a long time, this wine feels like one you want to harvest now. With the highly unique exception of the Verset, this was the wine of the night.
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Brilliant wine. Still has brightness but with beautiful balance and depth of fruit. Some meatiness in the aroma, with big, round fruit. Tannins are integrated. Structure is present, but resolved. Opened 3.5 hours ahead and recorked; decanted 60 minutes ahead and double decanted with 30 minutes to spare. This bottle was fragrant on opening with no funk to speak of. Slowly opened and added nuance over 90 minutes of drinking. Very special.
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Nice fruit character and structure. Delightful with beef, as the dark mineral character of the wine accentuates the dish. Mushroom and forest floor notes-- excellent length. Slight fraying, but it is still holding on.
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In the serie of syrah wines my friend Loek showed at his birthday tasting this wine was just a tad less impressive than the '90 Hermitage La Sizeranne from Chapoutier. Of course 7 years older, so its colour is a bit older, the wine showed a light smoky bouquet and firmness in the midtaste; there is also a whiff of sweetness in the classic finish.
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At Acker's Hermitage tasting (Cafe Tallulah, Upper West Side).
Burnt earth nose. Menthol taste. Still very tannic. Short finish. A few tasters had this as their WOTN. I thought it was great, but not quite up to the excellence of the '90.
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Showing incredibly well! I don't usually like Chave in the 80s as I thought it Is too rusty and lacks of finesse. However this show very differently, fresh as daisy yet full of complexity that only a well develop wine could offer. Full of finesse. The transition between entry / mid / finish is seamless. It said: gimme more time and You will be amazed! Alas, emptied.
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This is really beautiful. Strong smoked meat aromas with lovely florals. Dry cracking leather. Highly expressive and complex nose with a lot to interpret. On the palate intense and concentrated blackberry, currant, and spices. Rare roast beef. Wonderful earth throughout. The florals are quite remarkable. Tannins still have a fair bit of grip but provide nice punch to a softening and round palate. Nice acid through the finish. So flavorful and expressive, really great.
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Clear bright but pale red but no browning. Glorious nose , leather mineral , truffle , red fruit quintessential Chave. Fresh and vigorous. Very lifted fruit on palate, fresh acidity with red fruits . Immense length and understated power. Beautiful and ageless.
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Fabulous nose with dark red fruit, roasted sweet spices, and soil tones. Light funk for the first 30 minutes. Palate was not the equal of the nose with a dry finish that displayed hints of fruit but low acid. Front and mid palate performed well but this bottle was slightly past peak. I find this vintage to be at or near a peak even with the best bottles.
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Rhone night at Nicolas. Pale red, with some cloudiness. I really couldn't get the love the rest of the group felt towards this wine. There was an exotic nose, with barnyard, ginger spice, sour cherries, black tea and stewed meats. The wine was tiring on the palate and dried out pretty quickly. There was hardly any fruits or acidity left to begin with, and with a short time in the glass, the wine became rather disjointed and increasingly fatiqued. The nose was the saving grace, but even then, it really was just hanging on.
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Glossy brick colour with wide near-colourless rim. Powerful savoury bouquet of gamey, decaying animal, with leafy forest floor and mushroom aromas. Tannins completely dissolved and excellent balance. Soft and supple palate of sour cherry, juniper and blueberry with complex notes of leather and undergrowth.
Fascinating and fantastic.
[Drunk after dinner in Singapore - 19C - decanted 30 minutes]
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Fully mature, with a beautiful, fresh, ripe, stony, spicy, rocky, red berry essence that pairs acidity and sweetness to perfection. Splash decanted and poured, the wine shows more elegance and complexity that power at this stage. The tannins are fully integrated. There is no reason to age this any longer, it is at peak today.
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This bottle tasted its age. Getting higher variability from the '83 than I used to. Appealing nose with subtle warm spice. Fruit largely receding from the backpalate although still a lot of red fruit on the entry. Leaves a drier and shorter finish that this wine provided previously, and the best bottles still can.
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Initially a little bit closed. Red berries on the nose. Some leather. Focused. Juicy. Long and beautiful finish. Not an expert on Hermitage, but maybe slightly over the top?
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Bottle was beginning to fade. Still enjoyable but the spice was fainter and the fruit one degree more muddled than other recent bottles I have consumed.
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Great nose on this bottle with a rich mix of sweet and savory spices providing most of the depth. Took all of 1.5 hours to fully open. Less impressive on the palate although still performing well with fine acids on the finish. Even well kept bottles are for current drinking.
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Very expressive bottle. Popped and poured. Exploding nose of dark leather, sous bois, dark berry, and meat. Really driving intense perfume. Medium palate with good refinement. This drank well.
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The wine was decanted and then put back ion the clean bottle for transport. We enjoyed it abourt 3 hours later. There was considerable funk upon opening and an almost corky smell, but it dissipated and was again superb. Still vigorous 4 hours on.
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Great aromatics on this wine. Sweet spice, light cola, and umami mustiness. The nose goes on for hours. Dry dark earth and spice on the palate. Palate receded and dry tannins took over after two hours. Even in a non-standout vintage and slightly past its prime, this is just good stuff.
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On the downslope but still a beautiful wine. Broth, leather, dried herbs and red fruits on the nose, sweet fruits and initially on the palate but fading over time albeit gracefully. Still a lovely food wine with plenty of acidity. Drink up though.
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Dark ruby center graduating toward a lighter edge; doesn't foretell its age. Big, round, gamey, mature Syrah. Broad fruit with just a touch of spice and underlying meatiness. Tannins and acidity fully integrated. Remarkable. Looking forward to the rest...Do decant for a bit to let the flavors build.
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On the nose you get some root vegetables simmering in a beef stock. There's also a little smoke and bacon fat. It is a complete wine with all structural elements neatly tucked into the wine. It is sweet and vinous with ethereal savoury notes. A true joy to drink.
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A lovely, mature vintage of this wine. Very softly-textured like lace with mature flavors of violets, coffee and earthy spices. Red currants and game fill out the flavor profile and the tannins are fully resolved. Elegant and delicious but this suffered being paired with the '90 which is in a different league in terms of intensity and complexity. Quite mature so drink up.
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Stewed dark fruit, blackberry and blueberry, warm dry earth, with faint leather. I always enjoy this wine but it had a difficult comparison tonight in the '90 Chave. Does not have the depth or refinement of that vintage, nor the persistence of finish. I noted that it faded somewhat after a few hours with a mocha-like flavor taking over the palate. This wine has softened further since I last had it; well balanced for its age, and a wine to drink now.
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Dense and still brooding with fresh blood, iodine, olives, roasted meat, hints of blood orange. This is a perfect mix of savory, earth, and fruit. This grew over the evening. Fantastic stuff and at peak in this format with no fear of decline soon. Great stuff. 96 pts
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Northern-Rhone tasting (Manuelas & Markus Home): Colour: Brick red with browinish rim Nose: Red & black currant mixed with a "stable" ton, spices, iron, black pepper, olive, paprika and a hint of roasted meat alongside an earthy component. Smells still so young. Lovely nose. Palate: Wonderful balanced, mineral driven Hermitage with a lively acidity. After over twenty years in bottle, the tannins are fully integrated into the wine. Again red currant mixed with a blood, iron component. Super elegant with a great lenght. Wow.
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Birthday bash @ Bern's (Bern's Steakhouse (Tampa)): Paired against the Grange in a Syrah taste-off. Was originally going for the Guigal, but unfortunately supply had run out and so we had to find a back-up. A very meaty wine - has some of the funk that I associate with Northern Rhones, but relatively light on it's feet. Get some olives, bacon, damp earth. Paired with a chateaubriand pretty well. I was partial to the Grange, but this was a good wine.
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Loads of dark fruit, damp earth and meaty notes. This carried through to the palate that was soft and elegant. A bit of funk that blew off. Great balance. Easy.
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Dinner at Megumi (Megumi, Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore): Still very nice, but I cannot help feeling that this has seen better days. The nose was very mature, with tertiary notes of boiled herbs and salted vegetable, with a touch of green menthol notes, all draped over a nice core of sour plums, strawberries and dried rose aromas, with a little meaty undertone running through the bouquet. Quite nice, even pretty at points, but clearly going a bit green and herbal. The palate was rather more youthful thankfully. For one thing, it did not have the green of the palate. Instead, there were lovely matured Northern Rhone flavours of black cherries and sour plums with more savoury notes of olive tapenade and cooked meat, still wrapped in lovely juicy acidity and fine, slightly powdery tannins that gave the wine a nice chew on the midpalate. There was lovely clarity and freshness to the whole palate that I really liked; indeed, this had a certain Burgundian elegance to it that got a lot of us wondering when served blind. It was a wine of some character too, with a nice curl of spice and earthy mineral adding to the mix on a long finish. It was only at the very end that it seemed a bit austere, with a slightly drying twist of tannins coming to the fore. This would have been really something 4-5 years ago I think. Even now, it was a real pleasure to drink, just that its powers seemed to be on the wane.
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From half-bottle, this was extraordinary and just oozed both class and complexity. A very fragrant nose of roasted meats, old leather, dried herbs, and earthy dark fruits. Medium weight flavours and very elegant, silky and savoury on the palate. Well-stored bottles will cruise easily for several more years.
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Opened for 30-45 mins but did not decant and drunk over the next hour. Nice mature Hermitage. Dainty and elegant which you associate with Chave. Definitely on the floral side now with a bit of spice. Decent acidity but there's not much stuffing left. Have had wines from this batch over the past few years and think better to drink up as it has been on a slow decline.
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Bought on release at Chicago Wine Company and cellared since then. No import strip and a French tax seal on the capsule -- had me questioning whether this would be a good bottle. No problem at all. Light and pure, elegant, spicy, Chave musk and cocoa, incredibly fresh, secondary stage but still holding well. Until tonight, I'd not had a wine of the year, but this probably takes it with ease.
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Popped and poured. Similar to another bottle from earlier this year, but slightly less exciting and intense. Musty start that seemed very Brett-intensive, giving us some slight fears of cork, it that faded after 15-20 minutes. Good black fruit, spice and black pepper with some mushroom character. Best when open approx one hour, this started shows some sharp elbows and awkward elements when finished after open 2 hours.
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(1983 Wine Dinner, Red Tavern, Hong Kong) ~ WOTN. Opened by a great collector at 9 am for a 8pm consumption. By 8pm, nose of perfumed fine black pepper, laced with chocolate and herbs. Most astounding nose. Wine still tastes fresh and well balanced fruit vs alcohol. Finish was distinct if not long. Superb.
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Still delivering the goods, the wine is stony, earthy, rustic and packed with kirsch and cherry griotte. There is a nice depth of flavor, complexity and character here. But there is probably no upside to further aging.
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This was a nice old wine. Had some herbs, earth, and nice acidity. But honestly, it didn't move me. Perhaps I needed to give it more air to fill out a bit, but it just tasted old and I couldn't really distinguish it as a great wine of the Northern Rhone.
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Coravined. Initially pour is a bit shy and not expressive as the previous bottles. The last pour had three weeks later was showing a sign of oxidation.
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Dinner at home with Steve & Barb. Dark ruby in color with a huge and explosive nose of bright cherry & red berry fruit. Very sweet fruit right through to the finish. the tannins have mostly melted in the bottle. Nice acidity on the long finish. Steve & I absolutely love it. Barb says it's too old and Dena says it tastes dirty. Tonight the women are wrong! 50+14+13+9+9 = 95
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very vigorous from magnum. Classic soaring Chave nose all mineral and leathery Syrah with hint of blood. light and fresh on palate with great complexity and extraordinary length.
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Bearserkerfest Night 2-Chave Table (Sun Wah BBQ, Chicago IL): Nose: Gorgeous and perfumed with pretty and savory tones of violets, roses, dark red fruits, roasted meats, incense, black cherries, and some black pepper tones as well. There is really nice layering and depth to this as well.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. The feel is lovely and refined with pretty tones of violets, roses, black cherries, roasted meats, and some black olives.
Overall: The only difference between this and the past two times I've had it is that I wasn't able to spend as much time with it. This is a gorgeous Chave that demands your attention as it plays more towards nuance as opposed to power.
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Popped and poured. Started slightly musty but with great dark fruit concentration. Wine really opened with 10 minutes in glass with plenty of ripe and powerful black fruit aromas, floral hints and great pepper and spice. Similar flavors on palate with very good concentration and great balance. Kept getting better with more air and time in glass.
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This was love at first sight. Or was it at the first sniff, swirl or sip? Either way, the beautiful bouquet of earth, cherries, spice and stone was a treat. On the palate, picture, supple, extremely ripe, melted cherries with a beautiful sensation of sweetness, freshness and purity of fruit. At close to 30 years of age, this is drinking in the perfect spot. If you have a bottle, try it.
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James turns 30 years old (Trenchermen, Chicago IL): Nose: This took a little to open up, but once it did there were beautiful and savory tones of black cherries, roasted meats, violets, spice tones, black pepper, black fruits, and blackberries.
Taste: Gorgeous Medium/full feel with nice supporting tannins and medium+ acidity. Very well balanced with savory and sexy tones of black cherries, spices, black pepper, roasted meats, and some tobacco.
Overall: This is yet again a gorgeous mature chave. While it didn't have that final gear to kick it into overdrive, there are absolutely zero complaints as this was a pure beauty.
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Leroy, Unico, Rayas, Ravenau and etc (Washington DC): This is the best showing from the batch. Almost all tertiary, shy but bright red fruit, beautiful flowery perfume, meat, tobacco and ash. Fully matured, silky, airy and seamless. Not a big wine, certainly at this stage but lovely in Burgundian sense.
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Opened and poured after short decant. Developed meaty, smoky, earthy and herbal flavours combining with still-lively red fruits into a polished, seamless and incredibly fragrant whole that conveys flavours with a sense of understatement and a remarkable elegance. Fully mature but will should at this level for some years. Outstanding.
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Superb. Chave never disappoints. We had an abundance (excessive really) of great Rhones on this night and it was interesting to try La Landonne, La Turque, Chave, La Chapelle and Clape in successive flights with proper food. Lovely N. Rhone garrigue, black berries etc.. Plenty of life left, but outstanding now.
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Inaugural Great Steak-Off (Clarksville, Maryland): From a HDH auction lot consisting 10 bottles and 1 mag of the 83 Chave. All with great fills, almost no gap to the cork and always consistent showing. Very clean nose with ash, raspberry jam, cherry, sun dried tomatoe, rare charred steak, garrigue and earth. Fully matured, bright acidity and fully integrated tannins. This is where I believe once palate preference matters as at this stage the palate texture is very Burgundian (the nose is classic Chave hermitage) and no obvious concentrated fruits a la El Nido. I would imagined this was never a perfect wine but a perfectly matured Chave at perfect drinking window.
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J.L. Chave tasting with Gerard & Jean-Louis Chave and Louis & Xavier Kat (Okhuysen) (De Zwethheul (**) Schipluiden, Holland): Brought by Gerard and Jean Louis from the domain cellar. Not on the 'playlist' list but what an encore... Letting a wine age has some risks as seen by the '88 Chave Hermitage. But this pays of!! Brown in colour, phenomenal perfumed and beautifully balanced. This is the taste of Granite. Fruity and vital. This maybe the best wine I've ever had. 99 points. Hard to believe that there will be a better wine but you never know..........
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in a vert with 85/86/91 showing lots of rusty leaf mould mixed with terrific cherry fruit nose, the taste was tertiary, solid syrah, minerals and beefy notes this was the most "typical" wine of the bunch to me, lovely now and will last for many years in my book, not sure everyone had the same thoughts, they felt the acidity was showing.
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Tech G's Birthday Bash (Reno, NV): I've been fortunate to have had this wine about 4 or 5 times over the years... have written only one note on it, the best of the bottles I have had (99)... I would say the worst bottle was 94ish... this bottle was in between the two. Very similar notes to my last bottle... aromatically this wine sings and sings and allowed me to write a good dozen aromatic descriptors... on the palate the wine's very high acidity is the key to this wine texturally as it is what allows the amazing sweetness (not RS sweetness) to come off so well. Well balanced wine, awesome length, great intensity, insane complexity. So gracious and full of finesse, a fantastic texture, classic expression of place. At its peak and another "extraordinary" bottle of this extraordinary wine.
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Ruby with orange rim. Nose reminds of goudron, burnt peppercorns, sweet fruits, roasted meat, kentucky tobacco, orange zest. Mouth is still lively, fresh and almost sweet, with powerful but integrated tannins and an incredible finish.
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Nose is slightly dusty. Fragrance of autumn forest, game meat, hints of violet and dried rose but all fresh and precise. In the mouth, tertiary aromas of autumn forest ad meat are clean and precise, tannins are velvety. The velvety, however, acidity is a bit high.
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Fully mature textbook Chave hermitage. Lovely nose. Gamey with a lot of sweet cherries. This was very similar to the 81 opened together but I thought the 83 had a tad too much acidity which was covering up the interesting tertiary elements. Drink now but can hold for a few more years if bottles in good condition.
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Light red with considerable bricking at the rim. This comes across like a 20 year old Burgundy in both appearance and mouthfeel. Tastes of cherry and spice continue to speak more of Pinot; some notes of asphalt appear with air. This wine is fully mature and may even be starting to decline. Wonderfully sophisticated. My fourth visit with this wine and the best yet. Sorry it was my last bottle but glad I did not wait any longer to drink it.
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Medium ruby colour with some bricking at the edges, the clean and transparent appearance reminds me of a burgundy. (This is probably because I had let the bottle stand since yesterday, so the sediment was sitting comfortably at the bottom of the bottle like a plush red carpet.) The surprisingly clean nose was mature Hermitage of the old school persuasion -- crushed rocks, floral scents, cherries. Delightfully medium bodied, the wine was charming on the palate, with smooth clean lines and a sweet core of fruit that belied its 28 years of age and somewhat light appearance. The tannin was also noticeable, but not overtly. Overall, this was neither buxom knockout nor muscle-bound terminator, but simply a dignified dame of an Hermitage whose time for consumption has clearly come. I don't have more bottles of this, but if I did, I would probably finish drinking all of them by the time their 30th birthday comes around in 2013.
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Drinking very well. We decanted to leave some of the heavy sediment in the bottle. Immediately poured our glasses. Nose was funky but that blew off in a half hour. Light tannins, dark color, medium bodied. Flavors have some nice complexity. Did not have the smokiness we expected from a Rhone.
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This bottle was much better than the last one. Tons of sediment requiring a decant but don't over breathe. Very developed nose and screams of fully mature, rustic old school Hermitage. It won't make a fan of those who like a little punch in their wines but lots of developed flavors. Best to drinnk in the next 2 years.
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An Evening Of Burgundy, Barolo & Rhone (Osteria Mozza - Los Angeles): (Magnum) A bit musty at opening. Mature meaty nose, barnyard, wet fur. Stoney black fruits but somewhat astringent at first on the palate. The acidity mellowed a bit after time in the glass displaying more fruit.
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Glorious Rhône lunch at 28-50 (London): Cherry and pepper and funk. This is bright and high-pitched, a soprano to the 1982 that just preceded it. Very feminine and more Burgundian.
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this clearly fell off somewhat quickly, but it seemed to be discarded by the group at the first hint of change. i wanted a more primary fruit experience, and would think "better" bottles still have it. wine is a weird thing. no definitive discussed reason for the decline in the glass. NR
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G6 (Kevin): Dark garnet color. Earthy black fruit nose. Raspberry, cherry, and earth on the palate. Some tannins. Fresh acidity. Light elegant finish. This wine is quickly beginning to fade in the glass. 14% alcohol.
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Thursday night football (Shane's abode): nose: absolutely classy and deep nose that has a seamless quality to it with pungent tones of dark red fruits, black cherries, gamey tones, leather, and bits of potting soil. This still had some power behind it, but with a more refined quality
taste: polished and gorgeous medium/full feel with nice tannins still supporting the wine along with deep and classy tones of dark red fruits, leather, bits of rawhide, gamey tones, and some bits of earth. Extremely well balanced that is very well layered too
overall: a gorgeous wine and a real treat. While it didn't kick into that final gear that some other chaves posses, this was a wonderful mature chave. This one was easy to pick out blind as we all knew it was in the line up. There had been some slight discussion before, but when this was poured there was no question what it was and showed off its pedigree
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Much better showing - lots more complexity. Almost light-bodied, very light color, looked like old Pinot tending towards Barolo. Much more like Barolo on the palate with tannins galore but great balance with the acidiity. Lots of smoke, tar, and a core of red fruit. Very long, very enjoyable.
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Spectacular stuff. It's hard to move past the fragrance here, which just keeps expanding with air and combines all sorts of meaty, leathery, smoky, rusty and red fruited elements into an intoxicating scent that's beyond description. Unreal finesse and elegance in the mouth, conveying flavour with barely any sense of weight and a polished, satiny texture. Tremendous length and presence, with each sip staying with you and the last few being the best - what a treat. Thanks Spencer!
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Built and improved over 1-2 hours in decanter before declining -- must be at peak now. Fabulous nose of black olive, bacon/bacon fat, garrigue spice, some lovely high notes of sweet spice underpinned by the low notes. At first mouth was slightly flat but as it opened up it took on length and complexity. Scoring the nose alone I'd probably go up to 97.
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A great looking bottle that featured a medium red center with oranging rims. While lighter looking that the 1985, this wine started out with a bit tougher tannins in the mouth (as maybe the fruit was not quite as intense). As the wine passed the 3 hour mark of air, it rounded out nicely in the mouth and was a lovely drink. While I would opt to drink it soon, as it seems to be at its peak, well stored bottles should hold for several years.
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More evolved than other bottles described below. Great balance, nose of cinnamon, long ripe tannins and bursting acidity, but not as much fruit as I would like. It was speculated that this bottle might have seen too high a temperature, as while it wasn't cooked, it didn't show as well as it should have.
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With a beguiling nose of blackberry, earth, fresh herbs, tobacco and strawberry, this balanced, charming and elegant wine ends with spicy black and red fruits. Fully mature, there is no reason to wait.
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Light in color with low extraction... reddish/brown rim. The nose is frankly perfect with an enormous amount of complexity... my note pad was literally filled with descriptors... tobacco leaf, exotic spices, wet and mossy earth, iron, meatiness, florality, smoke, red > dark fruits. On the palate the wine has a pause before a very firmly acidic ascent into a relatively firm, though moderately wide midpalate... the wine transitions effortlessly into a 45-60 second finish (that is quite plush for the wine's age and firmness in the front end) with a moderate amount of completely integrated tannins. Excellent balance, length, intensity and off the charts complexity. Great finesse, very fine texture, and classic expression of place. The wine is at its peak and has the structure to hold here for some time... an unquestionably "extraordinary" wine.
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(Mag) Last time I had this wine out of this format, I made the mistake of not giving it enough air. I learned my lesson. Blood, meat, and smoke: a carnivore's dream. Rich and very well balanced. Deep and dark, with more of the dark side of Chave coming out with air time. Some blood orange, and flat out terrific palate presence. Early peak in this format. 96pts.
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Dinner at Poole's Diner, Raleigh, NC with Craig & Melanie. Ruby in color with tremendous minerality. Rich but subdued as well. Sour cherries. A pointe right now with several years left to go. In my notes I have "Chave!". 50+14+13+9+9 = 95
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Textbook Hermitage. Loaded with tar, roasted meat and pine. Pinnacle nose. The palate was rich but finished with a tart, acidic note, and it took a few hours to relent and show its true potential. Quite impressive.
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First, the nose. Not yummy Richebourg meaty, but like school cafeteria beef stew meaty. Fruit was really missing in the palate. Quite light, but sticky in the mouth. Dissapointing short finish. This wine should have been better.
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Dinner at home with Lil & Lori. I always enjoy this '83 but this particular bottle brought things to a whole new level. Ruby in color, this is a very refined and complete wine. Medium to full bodied, this seamless wine brought out notes of chocolate, black currants, nuts, olives and violets.Concentrated and pure on the palate with a great level of richness balanced by a very refreshing acidity. An ethereal and harmonious wine with a finish that lingers for quite some time. What every bottle strives to be. 50+14.5+14.5+9.5+9.5 = 98
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Classy mature syrah. Gamey on the nose with hints of raspberry compote. Delicious red fruits in the mouth. A quintessential representative of a great Nothern Rhone at its optimal drinking age.
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Very advance. Fantastic nose. Bit of a let down after the nose as it tasted a bit thin and overwhemled by the acidity. Still pleasant and there were certainly flashes of its underlying breeding. It was a mistake to decant this bottle as it faded quite quickly after 1/2 hour.
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A tricky wine. Evolved a lot over the course of two hours. At it's peak, this wine is driven by structure more than fruit. It carries the warmth of great Hermitage but the tannins that drive the structure provide a lacy, tactile mouthfeel that I just love. Wonderful secondary flavors ... olives, black pepper, smoke, meat, leather. While the group universally selected the '82 as the Chave of the evening, this wine was as good to me. Just love that texture.
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Dinner at St. Jacques, Raleigh, NC with Dick & Amy. Ruby with some bricking. Something was clearly off in this bottle. Not corked or oxidized but very thin and not at all like other bottles from the same case. Not rated.
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Dinner with Friends - Vinci (Chicago): Rust, ruby in color. Amazingly effusive and complex nose has smoked meats, sweat, dark fruits and pepper notes. Elegant medium-bodied palate is complex, persistent and long. Soft aged dark fruits are in the background with meaty, earthy notes at the forefront. Finish is long and full flavored. A wow wine!
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"Bring your Best" Reno tasting (Mark and Megan's): Decanted 90+ minutes. Lighter brownish red. Really nice nose of meaty, bloody iron but with significant spice and some cherry fruit. Elegant mineral-driven palate with more fruit showing than on the nose and spice doing what it should - adding spice to the experience. Finally a Chave with in-control tannins, but tannins were still in play as was a touch of acidity, giving this a laser-like focused finish and decent length. Nicely paired with lamb chops (Chave's own recipe).
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Dinner at Bonne Soiree with Steve & Barb. Brick red in color and a little musty at first. The mustiness blew off ( somewhat ) but this bottle never lived up to the magic of some previous bottles from the same case. Was showing the more earthy and leathery side of Chave, along with some of the characteristic minerality and hot stone nature of Chave, but little in the way of fruit and with less vibrancy than previous bottles. Still really nice, just not all it could have been. 50+12+12+8+8=90
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Dinner at Bonne Soiree. Dark garnet in color, this was a beautiful wine to have with an excellent meal at our first visit to this new restaurant in Chapel Hill. Medium bodied, this is an elegant and structured wine that drinks much younger than its' age would indicate. Filled with sour cherries and minerals and the great Chave distinction. Really opened over the course of dinner giving the impression that some decanting time may have been in order. Very rich, really a complete wine. Long finish. From the same case as the bottle enjoyed at the St John offiline in London 2 months earlier, and every bit as good, if not a little better. 50+13+13+9+9 = 94
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SOBER (fka TWITS) Tasting (Mark's house): Serious roasted meat on the nose, along with a touch of barnyard. Andrew thought a touch of VA but I didn't really get it. On the palate, the fruit is very mature witha touch of leather and a bit of sous-bois. Some gravelly notes. Notably more mature than the others in this flight.
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St John Offline (St John, London): More youthful appearance, less fruit more game, denser, irony, a hint of brett on this one, and something just off putting on the finish. Very solid.
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Suckling Pin Dinner at St. John (London, UK): Ruby in color, this was not only much darker than the '82 but it had a richer, more vibrant hue to it. Some menthol and a little brett ( in a positive sense adding complexity ) on the nose. Medium + in body, the palate was very rich and the wine showed mostly resolved tannins. Some tannins on the long finish but nothing too rough. Had been shipped in the cargo hold of a trans-Atlantic flight earlier that same day but showed absolutely no signs of bottle shock. 50+12+13+9+9 = 93
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Christie's Wine Dinner (Charlie Trotter's - Chicago IL): Lots of ripe red fruit on nose with intense pepper and other spices, along with some good smoky elements. Red and black fruit on palate, with far more intensity than another bottle of the same wine served at another dinner recently. Spice comes through very well on finish that has exceptional length. Definitely better than another bottle just recently tasted.
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Christie's Dinner at Charlie Trotter's (Charlie Trotter's, Chicago): My first Chave and it did not disappoint. Light color. A feral horsey nose, grilled meats, and saddle leather. Brambly wild berry flavors. A truly untamed beast of a wine. I loved it. Can probably age and improve for another ten years.
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eBob tasting - Clear red/purple. Lovely rich forward red fruit aroma with hints fo barnyard. Very similar nose to the 82. Not so on the palate, unfortunately. Meduim red fruit with canned hints and a hint of chalkiness on the finish. Nice but perhaps not a perfect bottle? Low 90s. 2/06
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Good Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone Dinner (Custom House - Chicago IL): Great nose of big red fruit, big pepper and spice with some emerging secondary elements. Ripe red and black fruit on palate, but just moderate intensity vs. its 1982 counterpart served alongside. A bit tannic with a few rough edges.
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Wrap-up dinner at Butterfield9 (Washington DC): This wine had an absolutely gorgeous, almost haunting, nose of smoky bacon and tar with some light floral notes. The palate was light, delicate and fully resolved with Nebbiolo-like notes of dried Rose petal and black cherry. Tart, lightly acidic and definitely drying out, I wouldn't sit on these for a long time. Very enjoyable!
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S.F. - Rubicon High End Rhone Wines (Rubicon, S.F.): Dark red color with black fruit flavors. Leather, game, and some nice spice notes. The tannins stick up like a sore thumb though and might as Mr. Parker says outlive the fruit.
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Pale ruby color. Herbs, black & red fruit, licorice, coffee, cigar ash, wet forest aromas. Good verve. Better on the nose than the palate. Cherries and high toned red fruits in the mouth. I've had better bottles.
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Drank after an evening of syrah tasting. Deep dark color showing no signs of age. Forward old world aroma. Depth and complexity on the palate with black fruit dominating but telltale briar finish. Very nice and drinking just fine. 6/04
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WOW!! What a great treat. All of the greatness we expected with no flaws. A true expression of mature Hermitage. Probably at peak but in no danger of sliding fast.
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Historic note (recorded Aug 06). Lovely cherry red wine, more like a Cote Rotie at first than a Hermitage. Roasted hillside fruit flavours - delicious. Deepens with time in the decanter, becomes more meaty. Fragrant, juicy and quite delicious. At best after 2 hours in the decanter. Should last to 2010 or beyond.
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4/20/2024 - etyc Likes this wine:
Fully mature, this had the "converged" bouquet where aged Burgs & N. Rhones start to show similarities, w/ "dusty" dark-red cherries, earth, sous-bois & some herbs... Still energetic on the palate, with enough fruit/freshness to still propel it for some years to go; At the plateau now, doubt it'll improve further...
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3/17/2024 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Heater week; 3/8/2024-3/17/2024 (Chicago, IL): Not at the level of Friday's bottle. Initially my favourite of the 80s Chaves, but this was surpassed by the 1988 later in the evening. Ripe fruit and a mix of red and black. A little dirty and not as pristine as that earlier bottle. Still, a very enjoyable bottle.
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3/15/2024 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
Heater week; 3/8/2024-3/17/2024 (Chicago, IL): Can't believe it's taken me this long to come across this wine. It was a bit underwhelming at first, but despite its age, took to air very well and expanded in depth and power as the night went on. Structured more like the Juge, with black fruit and a burlier tannic presence (versus the lighter and more ethereal Jamet and Trollat), there's an incredible depth of flavour and potency here. Of course, there's plenty rusticity typical for the Chave of yore. Very impressive stuff -- I hope to cross paths with this again before long. For my palate, very much at peak.
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3/1/2024 - vvWine.ch wrote: 95 Points
Gereiftes Rubin, orangenfarbene Ränder. Feinduftige Nase, Herbstlaub, getrocknete Rosen, sehr floral und verspielt, fast schon burgundisch anmutend. Im Gaumen zugänglich, noch immer mit schöner Frucht, die Tannine sind abgeschmolzen, die Säure wirkt stimmig, hier ist alles an seinem Platz, ungemein elegant, frisch und mit feiner Würze und roten Beeren im Abgang. Love it. Trinken bis 2030.
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1/24/2024 - MartyL Likes this wine: 96 Points
Ready and glorious. Amazing dark savory aromatics, but somehow light and etherial on the palate. Was great on pop & pour. A reminder of how great Chave once was.
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11/15/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
At full maturity, if you want to understand the magic of Chave, look no further. Full, rich, concentrated, and complex, the wine is also elegant, refined, earthy, spicy, and pure, with energy and lift that propels the layers of peppery, sweet, herb, and spice-tinted red fruits over your palate. No decanting is needed, just pop, pour, and enjoy the thrill ride. Drink from 2023-2035.
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5/19/2023 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 95 Points
[Blind] Gorgeous bouquet, distinctively Chave right out of the gate with rose petals and a ceramic / acrylic detail, faint smoke. A bright, lifted, clean and pure example. All about the floral detail and fruit on this bottle. Among the best examples of Chave Hermitage of any vintage I have ever tried. Real energy and vibrancy on this still, the aromas leap from the glass.
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4/22/2023 - walkerjfw wrote: 97 Points
Zurich Supper Club (London Finale) CVA/Christine/Andrew/Po Lin/Valerie, special guest Ethan! (67 Pall Mall - London, UK): A generous contribution from CVA. We made a late, game time call to open this one. Estimating it was open for about 30 minutes before we drank it. Some of the funk had blown off by the time we started drinking it - probably had this over about 90 minutes..
Light garnet, slightly translucent with some sediment. Nose showing old red fruits, herbs, orange zest, saline. Elegant palate showing dusted cherry, red currant, herbs, earth notes. Light and silky texture, even though it shows light to the eye/nose/palate, the fruit has persistence through the mid palate. medium weight and finish.
Truly exceptional wine. I am a big fan a Chave - getting an opportunity to drink a wine of this age and provenance was a great experience. Shows what well stored bottles can become and why the wine has a well deserved reputation for longevity...Continued to evolve in the glass over the time we drank it. Decant gets you through some of the funk when first opened.
In any other setting this would have been WOTN, my #2 behind the '55 Grange
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3/12/2023 - LWI wrote: flawed
Grouse with friends: Blind. Uklar. Mørk frukt, funky, aske, lett volatil. Strukturert med høy syre. Litt rar og antageligvis ikke optimal flaske.
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3/4/2023 - Wine Canuck wrote: 97 Points
Northern Rhone-a-thon: This pours light garnet in the glass. This was the lightest in the glass of the whole evening, more reminiscent of Burgundy than Syrah in it's appearance. The nose is extremely expressive showing a very wild and elegant aromatic of sweaty socks, oyster, white pepper, old redwood, red currant, dried thyme, toasted cumin seed, iron, orange zest, and dried lemon rind. The palate is very light and elegant with red currant and lightly herbaceous elements. Tannin is low and acid is medium plus fanning out to a glorious finish replaying all of the nose. Just a fabulous wine that actually improved with air. On first pop you could tell this was going to be a special wine, though there were some funky characteristics that clearly needed to blow off and/or integrate into the complete package of the wine. For me, this was at its best after about an hour.
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2/28/2023 - gatobarbieri wrote: flawed
Dead. Fill dropped over the last year, cork likely failed. RIP.
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11/20/2021 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Wines Enjoyed at John Kapon's 50th Birthday Bash (The Pool - New York NY): Small glass from magnum, brief note. A wine that typically thrills me, and a wine that others enjoyed more tonight, but I found it slightly dirty.
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11/20/2021 - hprphf Likes this wine: 94 Points
JK's 50th Birthday: Magnum. Such a classic vintage for Chave, high berry acidity, woody, so beautiful, singing today. 94-95
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10/16/2021 - fclarity wrote: 95 Points
Tasted blind, this wine had a red center and tan/orange rims. The medium intensity nose showed red berries, Provencal herbs, spices, and minerals.
In the mouth, this wine was rich and ripe with light tannin and a silky mouthfeel. It had great balance and length.
This bottle was going strong and will last another decade or even two. Enjoy!
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1/30/2021 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Even if not my producer of choice in the Rhone he does make good wine and this was just wonderful and in just the right spot (in fact would say that this needs to be drunk now or near future). Very animal and metallic twang and some more bacon and all of that. Drinking really well. And smelling maybe even better. The nose was outstanding.
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1/13/2021 - Brolawa Likes this wine: 95 Points
M&PD Zoom Tasting: This wine was light in color and had a beautiful smokey nose. It still had fruit on the nose but not as much as a younger Chave. The same on the palate: The fruit died quickly with the earth and tannins winning out and cutting the finish short. Don't get me wrong, this was a beautiful wine; it just didn't taste like Chave to me. I knew from the tasting parameters that I was tasting a Northern Rhone, but without that I might have guessed an old Chambertin.
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1/13/2021 - Eric wrote:
M&PD Zoom Tasting: Northern Rhône (Zoom): Incredible smoke. Looooong, delicate, mineral, smoke, cherry and tar. Celery seed. This is utterly gorgeous, faintly tannic and dry on the finish, but still just gorgeous.
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12/22/2020 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 97 Points
I thought this wine was killer tonight. Tasted like fresh strawberries. No signs of fading. Beautiful.
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11/8/2020 - PeterFrancis Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drunk to celebrate a friend's birthday - the last of the case. Colour shows maturity - slightly fading. Then fruit, meat and black olive notes on nose. On palate good concentration, resolved structure, mature certainly but with time to spare, nice length. A wine with perfect pitch and much better than the sum of its parts.
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11/2/2020 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 94 Points
Between the '79, '78, and this tonight, I think this was the most 'complete' package as it hit the Chave aromatic high notes with the smoked meats, black olives, and rustic earth while delivering a powerful wallop of developed but fresh black and red fruit. Not as rosy and sort of hauntingly etherial as the '79 but more flashy and fleshy (relatively) than the '78, and certainly the wine with the most longevity remaining. All perfect bottles from an excellent cellar.
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5/22/2020 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
From magnum. Plenty of fruit still here, less definition but abundant soft sweet spice. Beautiful nose here
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2/29/2020 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 93 Points
Much better precision and brilliance than 750s of this wine. Displaying still sweet red fruit, clean spice, and hints of forest floor.
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12/26/2019 - jnewman77 Likes this wine:
This was quite enjoyable. Served with prime rib for Christmas; the color is pale garnet with a clear rim and some browning; the nose shows smoked game meat, dried red berries, leather, a bit of pepper, damp earth, and dried violet. The palate shows mostly meat and spice notes with still some chewy tannins on the back end. This is very enjoyable, though probably in a slow decline at this point as the fruit has mostly faded. Still a lovely wine
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12/21/2019 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 95 Points
I would have to say this was the surprise of the night. Outside of the 66 this was wine of the night for the table. Perfect color, intoxicating Chave nose of grilled meat, fire embers, pepper, ash and smoke, spices and loads of lush red berries. Concentrated and balanced. Such a treat.
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11/17/2019 - Nanda wrote:
A Whole Lotta Chave Hermitage (Single Blind) (Chez Kailin): 83/88/89/90/Ringer Flight. From 375. This was tired and very clearly showing oxidation. Nose was slightly better than the watery palate. Not nearly as interesting as 750s tasted in the past few years. My #4, Group #4.
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11/9/2019 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
From magnum. Fantastic bottle. None of the fading that one now often finds in 750s of this wine. Sharp red fruits, vibrant acids, and an underlying soil and mineral complexion. Very expressive spice nose
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10/18/2019 - hprphf wrote: 94 Points
Acker 2019/10 (Bouley): Significant more depth than last bottle, lovely spicy finish and great smooth ageing. 94
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8/24/2019 - cct wrote: 97 Points
Magnum
Double decanted for sediment in the AM then SOM'd
Initially, rare meat, iron, pepper, olives, and dark fruits on the nose. With time red fruits come out. A fantastic savory more than fruit driven nose. Expansive yet focused on the palate with again more savory than fruit, yet what is so impressive is how the seemingly disparate flavors all blend seamlessly with a wonderful juxtaposition of the savory and dark fruits with the red fruits that seem to blend into the rare game and meatiness. Acidity is terrifically balanced. Incredibly deep with effortless power coupled with grace. In this format, drinking at a near perfect place right now. Terrific.
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8/21/2019 - aChave Likes this wine: 95 Points
JL Chave tasting at M&S (McCarthy & Schiering): Medium brick with orange edge. Soft with round edges. In excellent shape. Classic rich, aged Syrah. No funk. Just a hint of meatiness, but mainly a sublime, soft and enticing wine. Opened 3 hours ahead; double decanted; open in the decanter for 45 minutes, then returned and stoppered in the bottle. Just about right.
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8/20/2019 - oldwines Likes this wine: 94 Points
Philly Wine Group Top French Wines Themed Dinner (The Prime Rib, Philadelphia): My last bottle purchased on release and in my cellar since...perfect cork, half stained but still tight yet supple enough to extract with ease. This bottle is another testament to to benefits of breathing wines, even (especially?) older ones. Decanted at 2pm, given 1+ hour in the decanter then poured back into the clean bottle for the trip to Philly for dinner. At the restaurant I poured it back into another decanter to await our second course. Lots of fine as well as chunky sediment. Initially it was a light to medium translucent ruby-brick color like mature burgundy. By the time we drank it around 8pm it had put on much more color and weight, less brick and more ruby, looking much younger than it did earlier. At first the nose was all about earth/sous bois and leather, gradually adding some red fruit (sour cherry especially), baking spices and finishing the night with distinct juniper berry. The acidity was still medium+ and there was still some noticeable tannin but not a lot. The palate was initially quite tart and bitter but with more air was more savory, chewier and enhanced with bacon, grilled meat and baking spice. With the beef it was much more tobacco which dominated the medium to long finish on my last few sips (earlier it was rather short). If I had scored this upon first opening it would have been 85-87 and assumed way past its prime. Thankfully we were able to experience it in all its 35+ years of splendor. Well kept bottles should be on gentle decline over the next few years I would think.
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8/20/2019 - skurtz Likes this wine: 93 Points
For our Philadelphia wine club dinner at the Prime Rib. Double decanted four hours before dinner. Huge nose of juniper berries and mint. Pale translucent strawberry color in the glass. On the palate evergreen, bright berries, tannins (!) in the finish. Amazing, intellectually, but not quite delicious. Two hours later and bright red berries emerge, now delicious, with ribeye.
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8/16/2019 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 89 Points
Jean-Louis Chave in person for E&R's 20th Anniversary, with 22 of his wines! (E&R Wine Shop, Portland OR): Gorgeous, stewed old fruit on the nose. Meaty notion. The first "old" smelling wine of the night, but old in the beautiful sense. Very nice. The palate is rich in texture, but mellow in flavor. Certainly "older" notes here, and not quite as pure as it should be. Feels it may be losing itself a bit. Very nice acidity on the rich and round finish. Very pretty here, with a tartness that wasn't expected due to the older notes prior.
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7/4/2019 - dmalcolm wrote:
From a half bottle (purchased on release, perfect fill just below cork) and decanted for sediment, the nose was pure fireworks out of the gates and mostly tertiary, with black tea, cinnamon, eucalyptus, green and black peppercorns. On the palate it was long and silky with savoury red fruits, salty black olives and old leather. While sublime for the first hour, it began to fade with more time in the decanter.
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5/10/2019 - Papies wrote: 92 Points
Friday Night with the Beasts (The Papies, Elizabeth St, London): This is now on its last few legs and granted at this age is more the bottle than the wine still this felt on the fragile side.
The nose was classic and superb Chave, meaty smoky and easily the best thing about this wine. This is a nose to savor and treasure. Unfortunately on the palate this did not follow ( No Mouline 1983 here) but still was a great experience. 92
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4/27/2019 - ericindc Likes this wine: 93 Points
Northern Rhone Dinner at Marc's (DC/Silver Spring MD): Just horribly horribly stinky when opened. It gradually faded over a couple hours, but holy brett bomb. Browing rim. Once it started to blow off, the mature notes took over. Super complex, light/medium body, solid acidity, and light tannic structure. Without all the brett, this would have been much higher rated.
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4/19/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Pure Chave and I'd tend to think one of the better vintages of this wine. Animal is the best word to describe. A bit all over the place. It's intense and just gripping. This was a very good bottle as well. Really outshone the old barolo we had.
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4/1/2019 - tinybubbles wrote: 89 Points
Fruit beginning to dry up on this bottle, with some coffee notes on the finish. Still enjoyable, but drink now in 750. 89-90
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3/8/2019 - hprphf wrote: 93 Points
Zachy's La Paulee 2019 (Le Bernardin Prive): Great aging, with sweetness and leather. 93
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2/26/2019 - Kemo Sabe wrote: 92 Points
I am big Chave lover but this was very bretty. Huge brett on the nose - dusty, stank, some wet dog. Underneath lots of Hermitage spice, red berries, cherries. Better on the palate than the nose. Others liked this more than I did.
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1/30/2019 - Collector1855 wrote: 96 Points
Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage vertical (Singapore): Also here, a nose that recalls whole cluster aromas on the forefront. Then drief fruit, tobacco, meaty. Tea leaves on the finish. Nice!
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8/17/2018 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points
Lost Friday afternoon gathering – Jamet, Grange des Peres, Raveneau, Chave, Pignan and etc. (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner, VA): From a half bottle. Served blind by me and some thinks Burgundy. Burgundian nose displaying subtle red fruit, dry cherry, fresh cherry, rose, pepper, beef jerky, garrigue, tapenade, cinnamon, ash and limestone. Fully resolved palate, subtle red fruit, silky and fluid, bright acidity, strong limestone mineral and a medium to long subtle red fruit driven finish with rose and mineral at the end. Although enjoyable, it needs to be drunk up.
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8/17/2018 - pakabear Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lost Friday Lunch with friends (Eddie V's): Light red fruits, it reminded me of an aged Gamay, cooking spices, saline character, very good balance. Interesting in comparison to the '89.
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6/14/2018 - alanr wrote: 92 Points
Medium light body, dusty fruit on the nose, missing the savory truffle notes I associate with older Chave; very pure, burgundy weight fruit, faded with age but delicious nevertheless, some air time definitely brings out more structure and a bit more complexity, but this is at the end of its life. Sacrilege to say, but I think most Rhones are not capable of lasting 30+ years, better at the 15-20 year mark where they have a little more stuffing left.
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4/15/2018 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points
A lazy Sunday afternoon Chave lunch (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): Fully mature classic northern rhone nose displaying subtle red fruit, strawberry jam, dry cherry, rose, a hint of mint, garrigue, ash, rare steak, tapenade and limestone. Fully resolved palate, slightly thin and short, bright acidity, strong mineral presence and a medium subtle red fruit and rare steak driven finish. The nose is still expressive but the palate is starting to fade. If you are a fan of Jamet or a member of AFWE, you will love this wine. It would be nice to try from a mag.
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3/14/2018 - KoalaHK wrote:
Drunk at The Fine Wine Experience Domaine J-L Chave Dinner at Amuse Bouche Hong Kong - Much riper than the '85 but still retains a refined character. Concentration without extraction.
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1/18/2018 - murkybird Likes this wine: 94 Points
On opening, some earthiness and funk with a somewhat rustic finish. With decanting, a beautiful sweet red fruit emerges and the wine Is everything you would hope for and expect: refined, precise, and full of pleasure.
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11/22/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 92 Points
Good spice nose with dark red fruit. Drying and dusty palate that improved with air time.
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11/21/2017 - rlove wrote: 92 Points
Pale, transparent ruby. Mature cherry, florals, and olive on the nose. Fully resolved tannins and a silky texture. This lacks some of the freshness and brightness described in other recent notes, so expect variation, but overall a gorgeous, aged Chave.
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11/15/2017 - dmalcolm wrote: flawed
Corked
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10/31/2017 - jmoore431 wrote: 89 Points
Tasted blind: Very shy nose, smokey, soil inflected; very firm acid, in fact a little "over the top". A lot of "Vosne-ish" smoke and spice had people guessing Burgundy from Vosne. It was more burgundian than Rhone-like to me. Likely an off bottle.
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10/29/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
Chave Hermitage & Brisket (Chez Kailin - Northbrook IL): Served single blind alongside Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle. Fairly easy to identify which was which. Mature black cherry, sweet spice, slightly floral aromas. Similar flavors with some roasted meat. Elegant, almost silky soft tannins. Moderate power, very good length. No hurry to drink up. My favorite wine of the evening, most others agreed. Bottle with great provenance.
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10/29/2017 - Nanda wrote: 97 Points
Chave & Brisket (Ken's - Northbrook, IL): Served single blind and side-by-side with the '83 Jaboulet Chapelle. This was the far superior and more refined wine, and pretty easily identified as the Chave. A perfect 100 point OMG nose has an intense, detailed perfume of aged black fruit, olives, meat, mushroom, florals and old leather. The palate is similarly ethereal with light (but not quite dilute) fruit with precise balancing structure. Even though it's lighter bodied there is striking intensity of flavor. Silky and poised finish. Bravo. Double decanted ~2 hours prior to serving.
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10/29/2017 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 97 Points
Wonderful palate, woodsy, great color, side by side with '83 Paul Jaboulet La Chapelle, deep mouthfeel, floral with a long finish. Great start for an evening of Chave.
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9/2/2017 - Fred_Bo Likes this wine: 94 Points
When first poured, this was disappointing. Subdued fruit, nothing really and quite thin.
After 45 minutes in decanter, even the color of the wine took strength.
It came to life with full force. Wet cigartobacco, humidor, Cedar, lucious cherries and a delicious smoked ham. This is arch Syrah, no doubt about it! It just continued on and not letting down.
Man wish that I had more!
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8/9/2017 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Fully mature classic Chave nose displaying dry red fruits, raspberry, cherry, rare charred steak, dill, garrigue, flowers and limestone. Fully integrated palate, silky and polished, no noticeable tannins and a medium finish. The texture is very Burgundian. Need to be drunk up.
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7/28/2017 - clayfu wrote:
Purchased on release, served blind. Crazy pure bright fruit on the palate, piercing cool acidity running through the palate. It was so fresh and lively but still had that Chave wildness lurking in the back ground ready to explode. When revealed it was pretty unbelievable that it was an 83. I had 83 375s 5 years ago that tasted 10 years older (is that 15 yrs older then?). Excellent wine, as I told R.C. , 83 is our birth year but this wine has aged significantly better than we have.
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7/8/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 93 Points
Soft and typical with the fading clove notes and the dusty soil complexion that this wine usually displays.
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6/12/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: flawed
Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Dinner with Erin Chave (RPM Steak - Chicago IL): Dead. Seemed heat damaged because I have had at least three great bottles in the past five years.
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5/4/2017 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 93 Points
Rare Northern Rhone Dinner (Tocqueville): Spectacular nose: acrylics, smoked meat, smoldering embers, rustic earth, and sweet tobacco. Damp coffee grounds and mocha. Sweet red cherry palate, melting tannin, and gorgeous finish. Whereas the '90 is beginning to fully bloom but clearly has gas in the tank to keep it growing and improving for a long time, this wine feels like one you want to harvest now. With the highly unique exception of the Verset, this was the wine of the night.
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4/15/2017 - aChave Likes this wine: 96 Points
Brilliant wine. Still has brightness but with beautiful balance and depth of fruit. Some meatiness in the aroma, with big, round fruit. Tannins are integrated. Structure is present, but resolved. Opened 3.5 hours ahead and recorked; decanted 60 minutes ahead and double decanted with 30 minutes to spare. This bottle was fragrant on opening with no funk to speak of. Slowly opened and added nuance over 90 minutes of drinking. Very special.
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4/10/2017 - LordValentine Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice fruit character and structure. Delightful with beef, as the dark mineral character of the wine accentuates the dish. Mushroom and forest floor notes-- excellent length. Slight fraying, but it is still holding on.
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3/23/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 92 Points
Classic Chave soft sweet spice bouquet, dusty soil tones and red fruit. This bottle was mid-stage in its decline curve. 92-
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1/21/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 92 Points
More rose petal and cinnamon than the slightly darker character of other vintages. Beginning to fade in all but the best 750s
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1/11/2017 - FransS wrote: 92 Points
In the serie of syrah wines my friend Loek showed at his birthday tasting this wine was just a tad less impressive than the '90 Hermitage La Sizeranne from Chapoutier. Of course 7 years older, so its colour is a bit older, the wine showed a light smoky bouquet and firmness in the midtaste; there is also a whiff of sweetness in the classic finish.
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12/9/2016 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 93 Points
At Acker's Hermitage tasting (Cafe Tallulah, Upper West Side).
Burnt earth nose. Menthol taste. Still very tannic. Short finish. A few tasters had this as their WOTN. I thought it was great, but not quite up to the excellence of the '90.
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10/23/2016 - Sleepy Dave wrote:
Showing incredibly well!
I don't usually like Chave in the 80s as I thought it Is too rusty and lacks of finesse. However this show very differently, fresh as daisy yet full of complexity that only a well develop wine could offer. Full of finesse. The transition between entry / mid / finish is seamless. It said: gimme more time and You will be amazed! Alas, emptied.
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10/14/2016 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 94 Points
This is really beautiful. Strong smoked meat aromas with lovely florals. Dry cracking leather. Highly expressive and complex nose with a lot to interpret. On the palate intense and concentrated blackberry, currant, and spices. Rare roast beef. Wonderful earth throughout. The florals are quite remarkable. Tannins still have a fair bit of grip but provide nice punch to a softening and round palate. Nice acid through the finish. So flavorful and expressive, really great.
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8/28/2016 - redders wrote: 94 Points
Clear bright but pale red but no browning. Glorious nose , leather mineral , truffle , red fruit quintessential Chave. Fresh and vigorous. Very lifted fruit on palate, fresh acidity with red fruits . Immense length and understated power.
Beautiful and ageless.
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8/16/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 91 Points
Fabulous nose with dark red fruit, roasted sweet spices, and soil tones. Light funk for the first 30 minutes. Palate was not the equal of the nose with a dry finish that displayed hints of fruit but low acid. Front and mid palate performed well but this bottle was slightly past peak. I find this vintage to be at or near a peak even with the best bottles.
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8/4/2016 - justburg wrote: 87 Points
Rhone night at Nicolas. Pale red, with some cloudiness. I really couldn't get the love the rest of the group felt towards this wine. There was an exotic nose, with barnyard, ginger spice, sour cherries, black tea and stewed meats. The wine was tiring on the palate and dried out pretty quickly. There was hardly any fruits or acidity left to begin with, and with a short time in the glass, the wine became rather disjointed and increasingly fatiqued. The nose was the saving grace, but even then, it really was just hanging on.
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7/30/2016 - Mr Barsac Likes this wine: 97 Points
Glossy brick colour with wide near-colourless rim. Powerful savoury bouquet of gamey, decaying animal, with leafy forest floor and mushroom aromas. Tannins completely dissolved and excellent balance. Soft and supple palate of sour cherry, juniper and blueberry with complex notes of leather and undergrowth.
Fascinating and fantastic.
[Drunk after dinner in Singapore - 19C - decanted 30 minutes]
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7/28/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Fully mature, with a beautiful, fresh, ripe, stony, spicy, rocky, red berry essence that pairs acidity and sweetness to perfection. Splash decanted and poured, the wine shows more elegance and complexity that power at this stage. The tannins are fully integrated. There is no reason to age this any longer, it is at peak today.
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7/19/2016 - BradE wrote:
Really a sexy vintage of Chave. Loved it, and it really got better and better over the night.
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7/7/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 90 Points
This bottle tasted its age. Getting higher variability from the '83 than I used to. Appealing nose with subtle warm spice. Fruit largely receding from the backpalate although still a lot of red fruit on the entry. Leaves a drier and shorter finish that this wine provided previously, and the best bottles still can.
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7/6/2016 - reichken wrote: 90 Points
light color , fruit moving on a bit but still hanging in there. smooth pretty wine
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5/29/2016 - RayOB wrote: 96 Points
Drank at 67
Drank along side a '83 La Chapelle. This slighter edged the Chapelle with a bit more broader richer notes. Lovely.
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5/23/2016 - osordal Likes this wine: 90 Points
Initially a little bit closed. Red berries on the nose. Some leather. Focused. Juicy. Long and beautiful finish. Not an expert on Hermitage, but maybe slightly over the top?
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5/7/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 91 Points
Bottle was beginning to fade. Still enjoyable but the spice was fainter and the fruit one degree more muddled than other recent bottles I have consumed.
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4/17/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great nose on this bottle with a rich mix of sweet and savory spices providing most of the depth. Took all of 1.5 hours to fully open. Less impressive on the palate although still performing well with fine acids on the finish. Even well kept bottles are for current drinking.
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3/9/2016 - snjen wrote: 95 Points
Mature and showing great complexity
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2/15/2016 - The Guzz Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very expressive bottle. Popped and poured. Exploding nose of dark leather, sous bois, dark berry, and meat. Really driving intense perfume. Medium palate with good refinement. This drank well.
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1/13/2016 - ubercuvee wrote:
certainly towards the end of the window: really burgundy weight hermitage, almost none of the telltale power...
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11/27/2015 - bg2167 wrote: 84 Points
Bottle was in great condition but showed very shy. :-(
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8/23/2015 - vindictive wrote:
The wine was decanted and then put back ion the clean bottle for transport. We enjoyed it abourt 3 hours later. There was considerable funk upon opening and an almost corky smell, but it dissipated and was again superb. Still vigorous 4 hours on.
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4/10/2015 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great aromatics on this wine. Sweet spice, light cola, and umami mustiness. The nose goes on for hours. Dry dark earth and spice on the palate. Palate receded and dry tannins took over after two hours. Even in a non-standout vintage and slightly past its prime, this is just good stuff.
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4/5/2015 - PJRONeill wrote: 90 Points
On the downslope but still a beautiful wine. Broth, leather, dried herbs and red fruits on the nose, sweet fruits and initially on the palate but fading over time albeit gracefully. Still a lovely food wine with plenty of acidity. Drink up though.
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2/22/2015 - aChave Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark ruby center graduating toward a lighter edge; doesn't foretell its age. Big, round, gamey, mature Syrah. Broad fruit with just a touch of spice and underlying meatiness. Tannins and acidity fully integrated. Remarkable. Looking forward to the rest...Do decant for a bit to let the flavors build.
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1/17/2015 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
On the nose you get some root vegetables simmering in a beef stock. There's also a little smoke and bacon fat. It is a complete wine with all structural elements neatly tucked into the wine. It is sweet and vinous with ethereal savoury notes. A true joy to drink.
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12/31/2014 - dream Likes this wine: 92 Points
A lovely, mature vintage of this wine. Very softly-textured like lace with mature flavors of violets, coffee and earthy spices. Red currants and game fill out the flavor profile and the tannins are fully resolved. Elegant and delicious but this suffered being paired with the '90 which is in a different league in terms of intensity and complexity. Quite mature so drink up.
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12/29/2014 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
Stewed dark fruit, blackberry and blueberry, warm dry earth, with faint leather. I always enjoy this wine but it had a difficult comparison tonight in the '90 Chave. Does not have the depth or refinement of that vintage, nor the persistence of finish. I noted that it faded somewhat after a few hours with a mocha-like flavor taking over the palate. This wine has softened further since I last had it; well balanced for its age, and a wine to drink now.
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12/20/2014 - cct wrote: 96 Points
From mag.
Double decnted the AM
Dense and still brooding with fresh blood, iodine, olives, roasted meat, hints of blood orange. This is a perfect mix of savory, earth, and fruit. This grew over the evening. Fantastic stuff and at peak in this format with no fear of decline soon. Great stuff. 96 pts
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11/20/2014 - coremill wrote: 84 Points
Chave Dinner (Le Perigord): A strong aroma of pepperoni. Well past prime, less dense than the 86 or 82, drying out. Meh. Drinkable but no better.
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7/10/2014 - godx wrote:
A Week in Osoyoos; 7/5/2014-7/11/2014 (Osoyoos, BC): From half bottle. A real treat to try this but unfortunately wasn't as epic as a previous bottle according to the owner. Next time!
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5/1/2014 - m_arcon Likes this wine: 95 Points
Northern-Rhone tasting (Manuelas & Markus Home): Colour: Brick red with browinish rim
Nose: Red & black currant mixed with a "stable" ton, spices, iron, black pepper, olive, paprika and a hint of roasted meat alongside an earthy component. Smells still so young. Lovely nose.
Palate: Wonderful balanced, mineral driven Hermitage with a lively acidity. After over twenty years in bottle, the tannins are fully integrated into the wine. Again red currant mixed with a blood, iron component. Super elegant with a great lenght. Wow.
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4/26/2014 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Birthday bash @ Bern's (Bern's Steakhouse (Tampa)): Paired against the Grange in a Syrah taste-off. Was originally going for the Guigal, but unfortunately supply had run out and so we had to find a back-up. A very meaty wine - has some of the funk that I associate with Northern Rhones, but relatively light on it's feet. Get some olives, bacon, damp earth. Paired with a chateaubriand pretty well. I was partial to the Grange, but this was a good wine.
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4/5/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Loads of dark fruit, damp earth and meaty notes. This carried through to the palate that was soft and elegant. A bit of funk that blew off. Great balance. Easy.
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3/20/2014 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Megumi (Megumi, Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore): Still very nice, but I cannot help feeling that this has seen better days. The nose was very mature, with tertiary notes of boiled herbs and salted vegetable, with a touch of green menthol notes, all draped over a nice core of sour plums, strawberries and dried rose aromas, with a little meaty undertone running through the bouquet. Quite nice, even pretty at points, but clearly going a bit green and herbal. The palate was rather more youthful thankfully. For one thing, it did not have the green of the palate. Instead, there were lovely matured Northern Rhone flavours of black cherries and sour plums with more savoury notes of olive tapenade and cooked meat, still wrapped in lovely juicy acidity and fine, slightly powdery tannins that gave the wine a nice chew on the midpalate. There was lovely clarity and freshness to the whole palate that I really liked; indeed, this had a certain Burgundian elegance to it that got a lot of us wondering when served blind. It was a wine of some character too, with a nice curl of spice and earthy mineral adding to the mix on a long finish. It was only at the very end that it seemed a bit austere, with a slightly drying twist of tannins coming to the fore. This would have been really something 4-5 years ago I think. Even now, it was a real pleasure to drink, just that its powers seemed to be on the wane.
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3/15/2014 - dmalcolm wrote: 96 Points
From half-bottle, this was extraordinary and just oozed both class and complexity. A very fragrant nose of roasted meats, old leather, dried herbs, and earthy dark fruits. Medium weight flavours and very elegant, silky and savoury on the palate. Well-stored bottles will cruise easily for several more years.
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1/20/2014 - cortoncharlie wrote: 90 Points
Opened for 30-45 mins but did not decant and drunk over the next hour. Nice mature Hermitage. Dainty and elegant which you associate with Chave. Definitely on the floral side now with a bit of spice. Decent acidity but there's not much stuffing left. Have had wines from this batch over the past few years and think better to drink up as it has been on a slow decline.
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12/29/2013 - cfk49 wrote: 97 Points
Bought on release at Chicago Wine Company and cellared since then. No import strip and a French tax seal on the capsule -- had me questioning whether this would be a good bottle. No problem at all. Light and pure, elegant, spicy, Chave musk and cocoa, incredibly fresh, secondary stage but still holding well. Until tonight, I'd not had a wine of the year, but this probably takes it with ease.
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12/24/2013 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Similar to another bottle from earlier this year, but slightly less exciting and intense. Musty start that seemed very Brett-intensive, giving us some slight fears of cork, it that faded after 15-20 minutes. Good black fruit, spice and black pepper with some mushroom character. Best when open approx one hour, this started shows some sharp elbows and awkward elements when finished after open 2 hours.
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8/27/2013 - bengti wrote: 98 Points
(1983 Wine Dinner, Red Tavern, Hong Kong) ~ WOTN. Opened by a great collector at 9 am for a 8pm consumption. By 8pm, nose of perfumed fine black pepper, laced with chocolate and herbs. Most astounding nose. Wine still tastes fresh and well balanced fruit vs alcohol. Finish was distinct if not long. Superb.
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8/20/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Still delivering the goods, the wine is stony, earthy, rustic and packed with kirsch and cherry griotte. There is a nice depth of flavor, complexity and character here. But there is probably no upside to further aging.
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8/16/2013 - winequant wrote:
This was a nice old wine. Had some herbs, earth, and nice acidity. But honestly, it didn't move me. Perhaps I needed to give it more air to fill out a bit, but it just tasted old and I couldn't really distinguish it as a great wine of the Northern Rhone.
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8/15/2013 - dcwino wrote: 92 Points
Coravined. Initially pour is a bit shy and not expressive as the previous bottles. The last pour had three weeks later was showing a sign of oxidation.
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6/29/2013 - JeffGMorris Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dinner at home with Steve & Barb. Dark ruby in color with a huge and explosive nose of bright cherry & red berry fruit. Very sweet fruit right through to the finish. the tannins have mostly melted in the bottle. Nice acidity on the long finish. Steve & I absolutely love it. Barb says it's too old and Dena says it tastes dirty. Tonight the women are wrong! 50+14+13+9+9 = 95
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6/7/2013 - redders Likes this wine: 94 Points
very vigorous from magnum. Classic soaring Chave nose all mineral and leathery Syrah with hint of blood. light and fresh on palate with great complexity and extraordinary length.
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5/18/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
Bearserkerfest Night 2-Chave Table (Sun Wah BBQ, Chicago IL): Nose: Gorgeous and perfumed with pretty and savory tones of violets, roses, dark red fruits, roasted meats, incense, black cherries, and some black pepper tones as well. There is really nice layering and depth to this as well.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. The feel is lovely and refined with pretty tones of violets, roses, black cherries, roasted meats, and some black olives.
Overall: The only difference between this and the past two times I've had it is that I wasn't able to spend as much time with it. This is a gorgeous Chave that demands your attention as it plays more towards nuance as opposed to power.
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5/4/2013 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Popped and poured. Started slightly musty but with great dark fruit concentration. Wine really opened with 10 minutes in glass with plenty of ripe and powerful black fruit aromas, floral hints and great pepper and spice. Similar flavors on palate with very good concentration and great balance. Kept getting better with more air and time in glass.
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3/1/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
This was love at first sight. Or was it at the first sniff, swirl or sip? Either way, the beautiful bouquet of earth, cherries, spice and stone was a treat. On the palate, picture, supple, extremely ripe, melted cherries with a beautiful sensation of sweetness, freshness and purity of fruit. At close to 30 years of age, this is drinking in the perfect spot. If you have a bottle, try it.
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2/4/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 94 Points
James turns 30 years old (Trenchermen, Chicago IL): Nose: This took a little to open up, but once it did there were beautiful and savory tones of black cherries, roasted meats, violets, spice tones, black pepper, black fruits, and blackberries.
Taste: Gorgeous Medium/full feel with nice supporting tannins and medium+ acidity. Very well balanced with savory and sexy tones of black cherries, spices, black pepper, roasted meats, and some tobacco.
Overall: This is yet again a gorgeous mature chave. While it didn't have that final gear to kick it into overdrive, there are absolutely zero complaints as this was a pure beauty.
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11/24/2012 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
Leroy, Unico, Rayas, Ravenau and etc (Washington DC): This is the best showing from the batch. Almost all tertiary, shy but bright red fruit, beautiful flowery perfume, meat, tobacco and ash. Fully matured, silky, airy and seamless. Not a big wine, certainly at this stage but lovely in Burgundian sense.
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10/12/2012 - keith prothero wrote: 95 Points
Opened and poured after short decant. Developed meaty, smoky, earthy and herbal flavours combining with still-lively red fruits into a polished, seamless and incredibly fragrant whole that conveys flavours with a sense of understatement and a remarkable elegance. Fully mature but will should at this level for some years. Outstanding.
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9/23/2012 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Pinot and Chardonnay gathering at Harth Restaurant - Clos de Tart, Vogue BM and Chave (Harth Restaurant at Hilton Tysons corner, Mclean, Va): The same source as the last. Ash, bright red fruits, charred steak, beef blood, white pepper and garrigue. The palate is so darn Burgundian. Some may find this a bit too acidic and lacking the fruit sweetness. Drinking beautifully. We drank this at the end, perhaps it would have shown better with a fatty rare steak. Lovely.
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8/26/2012 - vindictive wrote:
Superb. Chave never disappoints. We had an abundance (excessive really) of great Rhones on this night and it was interesting to try La Landonne, La Turque, Chave, La Chapelle and Clape in successive flights with proper food. Lovely N. Rhone garrigue, black berries etc.. Plenty of life left, but outstanding now.
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5/11/2012 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Inaugural Great Steak-Off (Clarksville, Maryland): From a HDH auction lot consisting 10 bottles and 1 mag of the 83 Chave. All with great fills, almost no gap to the cork and always consistent showing. Very clean nose with ash, raspberry jam, cherry, sun dried tomatoe, rare charred steak, garrigue and earth. Fully matured, bright acidity and fully integrated tannins. This is where I believe once palate preference matters as at this stage the palate texture is very Burgundian (the nose is classic Chave hermitage) and no obvious concentrated fruits a la El Nido. I would imagined this was never a perfect wine but a perfectly matured Chave at perfect drinking window.
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3/19/2012 - Kriz wrote: 99 Points
J.L. Chave tasting with Gerard & Jean-Louis Chave and Louis & Xavier Kat (Okhuysen) (De Zwethheul (**) Schipluiden, Holland): Brought by Gerard and Jean Louis from the domain cellar. Not on the 'playlist' list but what an encore... Letting a wine age has some risks as seen by the '88 Chave Hermitage. But this pays of!! Brown in colour, phenomenal perfumed and beautifully balanced. This is the taste of Granite. Fruity and vital. This maybe the best wine I've ever had. 99 points. Hard to believe that there will be a better wine but you never know..........
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3/13/2012 - Lord Rayas wrote: 95 Points
Dinner with Alex/Nanette, Julian/Ada (Derby (guest chef Regis Marcon)): glorious nose. perfumed and seductive. a little acidic on the finish but that's more to do with the vintage. perfect drinking window now.
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2/17/2012 - beachbum wrote: 93 Points
in a vert with 85/86/91
showing lots of rusty leaf mould mixed with terrific cherry fruit nose, the taste was tertiary, solid syrah, minerals and beefy notes this was the most "typical" wine of the bunch to me, lovely now and will last for many years in my book, not sure everyone had the same thoughts, they felt the acidity was showing.
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11/18/2011 - markjanes wrote: 97 Points
Tech G's Birthday Bash (Reno, NV): I've been fortunate to have had this wine about 4 or 5 times over the years... have written only one note on it, the best of the bottles I have had (99)... I would say the worst bottle was 94ish... this bottle was in between the two. Very similar notes to my last bottle... aromatically this wine sings and sings and allowed me to write a good dozen aromatic descriptors... on the palate the wine's very high acidity is the key to this wine texturally as it is what allows the amazing sweetness (not RS sweetness) to come off so well. Well balanced wine, awesome length, great intensity, insane complexity. So gracious and full of finesse, a fantastic texture, classic expression of place. At its peak and another "extraordinary" bottle of this extraordinary wine.
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10/17/2011 - Ludi Likes this wine: 96 Points
Ruby with orange rim. Nose reminds of goudron, burnt peppercorns, sweet fruits, roasted meat, kentucky tobacco, orange zest. Mouth is still lively, fresh and almost sweet, with powerful but integrated tannins and an incredible finish.
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6/17/2011 - Lord Rayas wrote: 95 Points
Dinner with Roland, Eric and other K2 parents (The News Room): very light in colour. lovely perfume of smoke, forest and ripe fruits. more charming and seductive than the 82 La Chapelle. drinking beautifully.
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6/4/2011 - jpijg wrote: 93 Points
Nose is slightly dusty. Fragrance of autumn forest, game meat, hints of violet and dried rose but all fresh and precise. In the mouth, tertiary aromas of autumn forest ad meat are clean and precise, tannins are velvety. The velvety, however, acidity is a bit high.
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6/4/2011 - cortoncharlie wrote: 91 Points
Fully mature textbook Chave hermitage. Lovely nose. Gamey with a lot of sweet cherries. This was very similar to the 81 opened together but I thought the 83 had a tad too much acidity which was covering up the interesting tertiary elements. Drink now but can hold for a few more years if bottles in good condition.
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5/7/2011 - Stirling wrote: 93 Points
Light red with considerable bricking at the rim. This comes across like a 20 year old Burgundy in both appearance and mouthfeel. Tastes of cherry and spice continue to speak more of Pinot; some notes of asphalt appear with air. This wine is fully mature and may even be starting to decline. Wonderfully sophisticated. My fourth visit with this wine and the best yet. Sorry it was my last bottle but glad I did not wait any longer to drink it.
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5/2/2011 - ilee wrote: 91 Points
Medium ruby colour with some bricking at the edges, the clean and transparent appearance reminds me of a burgundy. (This is probably because I had let the bottle stand since yesterday, so the sediment was sitting comfortably at the bottom of the bottle like a plush red carpet.) The surprisingly clean nose was mature Hermitage of the old school persuasion -- crushed rocks, floral scents, cherries. Delightfully medium bodied, the wine was charming on the palate, with smooth clean lines and a sweet core of fruit that belied its 28 years of age and somewhat light appearance. The tannin was also noticeable, but not overtly. Overall, this was neither buxom knockout nor muscle-bound terminator, but simply a dignified dame of an Hermitage whose time for consumption has clearly come. I don't have more bottles of this, but if I did, I would probably finish drinking all of them by the time their 30th birthday comes around in 2013.
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4/3/2011 - wynnewood500 Likes this wine:
Drinking very well. We decanted to leave some of the heavy sediment in the bottle. Immediately poured our glasses. Nose was funky but that blew off in a half hour. Light tannins, dark color, medium bodied. Flavors have some nice complexity. Did not have the smokiness we expected from a Rhone.
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2/5/2011 - JeffGMorris wrote: flawed
Dinner at Table 16 for Barb's Birthday. Badly corked. It broke my heart as I know what a joy this wine is when in good shape.
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1/27/2011 - cortoncharlie wrote: 93 Points
This bottle was much better than the last one. Tons of sediment requiring a decant but don't over breathe. Very developed nose and screams of fully mature, rustic old school Hermitage. It won't make a fan of those who like a little punch in their wines but lots of developed flavors. Best to drinnk in the next 2 years.
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1/19/2011 - BurgFixx wrote: 90 Points
An Evening Of Burgundy, Barolo & Rhone (Osteria Mozza - Los Angeles): (Magnum) A bit musty at opening. Mature meaty nose, barnyard, wet fur. Stoney black fruits but somewhat astringent at first on the palate. The acidity mellowed a bit after time in the glass displaying more fruit.
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1/11/2011 - Eric wrote:
Glorious Rhône lunch at 28-50 (London): Cherry and pepper and funk. This is bright and high-pitched, a soprano to the 1982 that just preceded it. Very feminine and more Burgundian.
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12/6/2010 - jeff nowak wrote:
this clearly fell off somewhat quickly, but it seemed to be discarded by the group at the first hint of change. i wanted a more primary fruit experience, and would think "better" bottles still have it. wine is a weird thing. no definitive discussed reason for the decline in the glass. NR
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12/6/2010 - kstoddard wrote: 90 Points
G6 (Kevin): Dark garnet color. Earthy black fruit nose. Raspberry, cherry, and earth on the palate. Some tannins. Fresh acidity. Light elegant finish. This wine is quickly beginning to fade in the glass. 14% alcohol.
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11/18/2010 - KeithAkers wrote: 94 Points
Thursday night football (Shane's abode): nose: absolutely classy and deep nose that has a seamless quality to it with pungent tones of dark red fruits, black cherries, gamey tones, leather, and bits of potting soil. This still had some power behind it, but with a more refined quality
taste: polished and gorgeous medium/full feel with nice tannins still supporting the wine along with deep and classy tones of dark red fruits, leather, bits of rawhide, gamey tones, and some bits of earth. Extremely well balanced that is very well layered too
overall: a gorgeous wine and a real treat. While it didn't kick into that final gear that some other chaves posses, this was a wonderful mature chave. This one was easy to pick out blind as we all knew it was in the line up. There had been some slight discussion before, but when this was poured there was no question what it was and showed off its pedigree
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9/18/2010 - Tree512 wrote: 94 Points
Much better showing - lots more complexity. Almost light-bodied, very light color, looked like old Pinot tending towards Barolo. Much more like Barolo on the palate with tannins galore but great balance with the acidiity. Lots of smoke, tar, and a core of red fruit. Very long, very enjoyable.
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9/14/2010 - Rupert wrote: 91 Points
Hermitage dinner - Jaboulet La Chapelle and JL Chave (The Ledbury, London): Edgy, acidic, some farmyard aromas, but lots of fresh, earthy black syrah - love the life here
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8/19/2010 - salil wrote: 96 Points
Spectacular stuff. It's hard to move past the fragrance here, which just keeps expanding with air and combines all sorts of meaty, leathery, smoky, rusty and red fruited elements into an intoxicating scent that's beyond description. Unreal finesse and elegance in the mouth, conveying flavour with barely any sense of weight and a polished, satiny texture. Tremendous length and presence, with each sip staying with you and the last few being the best - what a treat. Thanks Spencer!
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7/28/2010 - DAN BAILEY wrote:
Simply gorgeous. Perfectly mature, perfect balance of red and black fruits.
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6/6/2010 - ccn wrote: 95 Points
Built and improved over 1-2 hours in decanter before declining -- must be at peak now. Fabulous nose of black olive, bacon/bacon fat, garrigue spice, some lovely high notes of sweet spice underpinned by the low notes. At first mouth was slightly flat but as it opened up it took on length and complexity. Scoring the nose alone I'd probably go up to 97.
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1/1/2010 - 60ouvrees wrote:
Definitely in decline, but still a fun to drink if you're a fan of northern Rhone Syrah.
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12/12/2009 - fclarity wrote: 93 Points
A great looking bottle that featured a medium red center with oranging rims. While lighter looking that the 1985, this wine started out with a bit tougher tannins in the mouth (as maybe the fruit was not quite as intense). As the wine passed the 3 hour mark of air, it rounded out nicely in the mouth and was a lovely drink. While I would opt to drink it soon, as it seems to be at its peak, well stored bottles should hold for several years.
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11/23/2009 - Tree512 wrote: 91 Points
More evolved than other bottles described below. Great balance, nose of cinnamon, long ripe tannins and bursting acidity, but not as much fruit as I would like. It was speculated that this bottle might have seen too high a temperature, as while it wasn't cooked, it didn't show as well as it should have.
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10/5/2009 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
With a beguiling nose of blackberry, earth, fresh herbs, tobacco and strawberry, this balanced, charming and elegant wine ends with spicy black and red fruits. Fully mature, there is no reason to wait.
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9/24/2009 - markjanes wrote: 99 Points
Light in color with low extraction... reddish/brown rim. The nose is frankly perfect with an enormous amount of complexity... my note pad was literally filled with descriptors... tobacco leaf, exotic spices, wet and mossy earth, iron, meatiness, florality, smoke, red > dark fruits. On the palate the wine has a pause before a very firmly acidic ascent into a relatively firm, though moderately wide midpalate... the wine transitions effortlessly into a 45-60 second finish (that is quite plush for the wine's age and firmness in the front end) with a moderate amount of completely integrated tannins. Excellent balance, length, intensity and off the charts complexity. Great finesse, very fine texture, and classic expression of place. The wine is at its peak and has the structure to hold here for some time... an unquestionably "extraordinary" wine.
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8/28/2009 - cct wrote: 96 Points
(Mag) Last time I had this wine out of this format, I made the mistake of not giving it enough air. I learned my lesson. Blood, meat, and smoke: a carnivore's dream. Rich and very well balanced. Deep and dark, with more of the dark side of Chave coming out with air time. Some blood orange, and flat out terrific palate presence. Early peak in this format. 96pts.
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7/20/2009 - Peech wrote: 94 Points
concentrated and powerful. It was very floral and sweet, with tell-tale bacon fat notes.
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6/19/2009 - JeffGMorris wrote: 95 Points
Dinner at Poole's Diner, Raleigh, NC with Craig & Melanie. Ruby in color with tremendous minerality. Rich but subdued as well. Sour cherries. A pointe right now with several years left to go. In my notes I have "Chave!". 50+14+13+9+9 = 95
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6/6/2009 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
Textbook Hermitage. Loaded with tar, roasted meat and pine. Pinnacle nose. The palate was rich but finished with a tart, acidic note, and it took a few hours to relent and show its true potential. Quite impressive.
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2/18/2009 - rstark wrote: 88 Points
First, the nose. Not yummy Richebourg meaty, but like school cafeteria beef stew meaty. Fruit was really missing in the palate. Quite light, but sticky in the mouth. Dissapointing short finish. This wine should have been better.
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1/18/2009 - JeffGMorris wrote: 98 Points
Dinner at home with Lil & Lori. I always enjoy this '83 but this particular bottle brought things to a whole new level. Ruby in color, this is a very refined and complete wine. Medium to full bodied, this seamless wine brought out notes of chocolate, black currants, nuts, olives and violets.Concentrated and pure on the palate with a great level of richness balanced by a very refreshing acidity. An ethereal and harmonious wine with a finish that lingers for quite some time. What every bottle strives to be. 50+14.5+14.5+9.5+9.5 = 98
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11/13/2008 - winecowboy wrote: 92 Points
Classy mature syrah. Gamey on the nose with hints of raspberry compote. Delicious red fruits in the mouth. A quintessential representative of a great Nothern Rhone at its optimal drinking age.
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9/26/2008 - cortoncharlie wrote: 89 Points
Very advance. Fantastic nose. Bit of a let down after the nose as it tasted a bit thin and overwhemled by the acidity. Still pleasant and there were certainly flashes of its underlying breeding. It was a mistake to decant this bottle as it faded quite quickly after 1/2 hour.
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9/13/2008 - antiwood wrote:
A tricky wine. Evolved a lot over the course of two hours. At it's peak, this wine is driven by structure more than fruit. It carries the warmth of great Hermitage but the tannins that drive the structure provide a lacy, tactile mouthfeel that I just love. Wonderful secondary flavors ... olives, black pepper, smoke, meat, leather. While the group universally selected the '82 as the Chave of the evening, this wine was as good to me. Just love that texture.
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3/22/2008 - JeffGMorris wrote:
Dinner at St. Jacques, Raleigh, NC with Dick & Amy. Ruby with some bricking. Something was clearly off in this bottle. Not corked or oxidized but very thin and not at all like other bottles from the same case. Not rated.
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12/29/2007 - Nanda wrote: 95 Points
Dinner with Friends - Vinci (Chicago): Rust, ruby in color. Amazingly effusive and complex nose has smoked meats, sweat, dark fruits and pepper notes. Elegant medium-bodied palate is complex, persistent and long. Soft aged dark fruits are in the background with meaty, earthy notes at the forefront. Finish is long and full flavored. A wow wine!
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11/16/2007 - thomaskeil wrote: 94 Points
"Bring your Best" Reno tasting (Mark and Megan's): Decanted 90+ minutes. Lighter brownish red. Really nice nose of meaty, bloody iron but with significant spice and some cherry fruit. Elegant mineral-driven palate with more fruit showing than on the nose and spice doing what it should - adding spice to the experience. Finally a Chave with in-control tannins, but tannins were still in play as was a touch of acidity, giving this a laser-like focused finish and decent length. Nicely paired with lamb chops (Chave's own recipe).
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9/29/2007 - SimonG wrote:
Remmington Norman Offline in aid of Pebbles Project (Le Colombier, London): Paler, mid garnet. Slightly figgy nose. Sweet attack, good flavour. Long. Again, slightly figgy. God grip. Long, savoury. Really lovely wine. Excellent.
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5/11/2007 - JeffGMorris wrote: 90 Points
Dinner at Bonne Soiree with Steve & Barb. Brick red in color and a little musty at first. The mustiness blew off ( somewhat ) but this bottle never lived up to the magic of some previous bottles from the same case. Was showing the more earthy and leathery side of Chave, along with some of the characteristic minerality and hot stone nature of Chave, but little in the way of fruit and with less vibrancy than previous bottles. Still really nice, just not all it could have been. 50+12+12+8+8=90
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3/17/2007 - Deadbird wrote: 92 Points
fully mature, seemed the fruit was on the way down.
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12/15/2006 - JeffGMorris wrote: 94 Points
Dinner at Bonne Soiree. Dark garnet in color, this was a beautiful wine to have with an excellent meal at our first visit to this new restaurant in Chapel Hill. Medium bodied, this is an elegant and structured wine that drinks much younger than its' age would indicate. Filled with sour cherries and minerals and the great Chave distinction. Really opened over the course of dinner giving the impression that some decanting time may have been in order. Very rich, really a complete wine. Long finish. From the same case as the bottle enjoyed at the St John offiline in London 2 months earlier, and every bit as good, if not a little better. 50+13+13+9+9 = 94
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10/25/2006 - trankin wrote: 92 Points
SOBER (fka TWITS) Tasting (Mark's house): Serious roasted meat on the nose, along with a touch of barnyard. Andrew thought a touch of VA but I didn't really get it. On the palate, the fruit is very mature witha touch of leather and a bit of sous-bois. Some gravelly notes. Notably more mature than the others in this flight.
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10/10/2006 - Russell Faulkner wrote: 94 Points
St John Offline (St John, London): More youthful appearance, less fruit more game, denser, irony, a hint of brett on this one, and something just off putting on the finish. Very solid.
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10/6/2006 - JeffGMorris wrote: 93 Points
Suckling Pin Dinner at St. John (London, UK): Ruby in color, this was not only much darker than the '82 but it had a richer, more vibrant hue to it. Some menthol and a little brett ( in a positive sense adding complexity ) on the nose. Medium + in body, the palate was very rich and the wine showed mostly resolved tannins. Some tannins on the long finish but nothing too rough. Had been shipped in the cargo hold of a trans-Atlantic flight earlier that same day but showed absolutely no signs of bottle shock. 50+12+13+9+9 = 93
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6/25/2006 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
Aromatically, this wine offers ripe red fruits, minerality, spice and dark berries. Bright in profile, this spicy wine seems mature.
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2/23/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Christie's Wine Dinner (Charlie Trotter's - Chicago IL): Lots of ripe red fruit on nose with intense pepper and other spices, along with some good smoky elements. Red and black fruit on palate, with far more intensity than another bottle of the same wine served at another dinner recently. Spice comes through very well on finish that has exceptional length. Definitely better than another bottle just recently tasted.
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2/23/2006 - otisabdul wrote: 96 Points
Christie's Dinner at Charlie Trotter's (Charlie Trotter's, Chicago): My first Chave and it did not disappoint. Light color. A feral horsey nose, grilled meats, and saddle leather. Brambly wild berry flavors. A truly untamed beast of a wine. I loved it. Can probably age and improve for another ten years.
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2/6/2006 - winefool wrote:
eBob tasting - Clear red/purple. Lovely rich forward red fruit aroma with hints fo barnyard. Very similar nose to the 82. Not so on the palate, unfortunately. Meduim red fruit with canned hints and a hint of chalkiness on the finish. Nice but perhaps not a perfect bottle? Low 90s. 2/06
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1/31/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
Good Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone Dinner (Custom House - Chicago IL): Great nose of big red fruit, big pepper and spice with some emerging secondary elements. Ripe red and black fruit on palate, but just moderate intensity vs. its 1982 counterpart served alongside. A bit tannic with a few rough edges.
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9/10/2005 - ssouth wrote: 95 Points
With Jim and Diane at Bistro Sofia. Showing very nicely. Interestingly Cote-Rotie like after being open a while
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8/12/2005 - Eric wrote:
Wrap-up dinner at Butterfield9 (Washington DC): This wine had an absolutely gorgeous, almost haunting, nose of smoky bacon and tar with some light floral notes. The palate was light, delicate and fully resolved with Nebbiolo-like notes of dried Rose petal and black cherry. Tart, lightly acidic and definitely drying out, I wouldn't sit on these for a long time. Very enjoyable!
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6/22/2005 - jamiekutch wrote: 92 Points
S.F. - Rubicon High End Rhone Wines (Rubicon, S.F.): Dark red color with black fruit flavors. Leather, game, and some nice spice notes. The tannins stick up like a sore thumb though and might as Mr. Parker says outlive the fruit.
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2/12/2005 - Eric wrote:
Rhônes and dinner with Robert Parker (Baltimore, MD): no note
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8/1/2004 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
Pale ruby color. Herbs, black & red fruit, licorice, coffee, cigar ash, wet forest aromas. Good verve. Better on the nose than the palate. Cherries and high toned red fruits in the mouth. I've had better bottles.
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6/1/2004 - winefool wrote: 93 Points
Drank after an evening of syrah tasting. Deep dark color showing no signs of age. Forward old world aroma. Depth and complexity on the palate with black fruit dominating but telltale briar finish. Very nice and drinking just fine. 6/04
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2/2/2003 - JeffGMorris wrote:
WOW!! What a great treat. All of the greatness we expected with no flaws. A true expression of mature Hermitage. Probably at peak but in no danger of sliding fast.
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10/5/2002 - andrewstevenson.com wrote:
Lots of sediment in suspension unfortunately, which made it difficult for me to make much of an assessment of it. But it had an amazing nose.
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9/21/2000 - kevin h wrote: 93 Points
Historic note (recorded Aug 06). Lovely cherry red wine, more like a Cote Rotie at first than a Hermitage. Roasted hillside fruit flavours - delicious. Deepens with time in the decanter, becomes more meaty. Fragrant, juicy and quite delicious. At best after 2 hours in the decanter. Should last to 2010 or beyond.
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