Someone on CT says “past its prime” but this is just barely reaching its prime. The aromatics still show a bit of youthful red fruit, but there is the leathery, stony, smoky complexity. Palate is definitely softening, but there is that acidity of a less ripe vintage to keep an edge on things. Overall it’s balanced, but a little bit fierce. Old school wine from an old school vintage. Drink now and for many years to come.
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From the wine list at Legacy Records. Decanted and served - consumed over the course of dinner. Quite earthy and a bit herbaceous with green stemmy notes on the finish, red berries, medium weight and savory. Not the most riveting vintage, but still quite enjoyable particularly with beef tenderloin.
Drinking well. Definitely showing it's cool-vintage pedigree with some herbaceous notes on the nose and palate, though not off putting. You might confuse this with Loire valley cab franc, though it's missing a bit of tannin and still has some tell-tale Syrah pepper going on. A "pretty" version of Syrah is what I'd say. Feminine.
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Medium transparency clay colour, little rim variation for being 11 years old. Rubber new shoe smells. Black fruit. Earthy, manure. High acidity. Med-high volatile acidity. Long strong finish. Good, not great.
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Pulled from very cold storage, this is still tight. 24 hours of air brought out a little more fruit, but this needs 3-5 more years. It had surprising breadth on the palate for the lean 2008 vintage, and with some more development it could be a real star.
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Dinner with Jean Louis Chave (Heirloom cafe): Aromatic, clean, a bit fresher and minerally than the 2010, still has plenty of aromatic complexity with black pepper, spice, blueberry; palate is medium bodied, medium-plus acidity, fresh, balanced black and blue fruit; medium finish. Superb for the price, just a half step back from the truly great 2010. 91
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RODANO AIS TORINO: Frutto acidulo avvolto da una coltre ematica e selvatica. Buona vena mentolata e sensazione di freschezza. La bocca è acidissima, immatura e cruda. Tannino da caco verde. Niente di che, un vinello rustico che non fa onore al nome di Chave.
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Monthly tasting club LTC 2015-01; Northern Rhône plus some pirates. (@ DJ): The bouquet is still a bit locked, but shows blood, minerals and metal. On the palate juicy dark and red berry fruits, beautiful acidity and bitterness and round, slightly sticky tannin. Wait until 2017 – 2020+. 90+ for tonight.
Needs air, and undoubtably more time in bottle. After 4 hours it is just starting to release some interesting fruit and floral on the nose, but it's hard to pin down. Earlier it was singularly black pepper, almost stereotypically St. Joe, but it's since changed. Medium bodied, with serious grip, and nice acidity. I can't afford the Hermitage, so I'll have to wait to see how these develop.
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Part of a three bottle non blind vertical tasting from this producer covering 2008,2009 and 2010. This 2008 opened nicely showing powerful white pepper, mushroom moss and dark fruit. Compared to the 2009 and 2010 versions, this was a bit shorter with less back end vitality. Dark violet.
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Drank over two nights. Regret not decanting it the first evening, a very quiet and timid wine, which opened up beautifully onnthe second evening. A very expressive wine, not flaunty, elegant and refined: cherry fruits, pepper and forest floor aromas. Fine tannins and balanced acidity, a decent long mineral finish. An enjoyable wine, one which shall remain in the pits of my cellar for a few more years.
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Dark dense core with reddish violet rim; sour plum, spice, leather, sour cherry; good density, spicy, cranberry, leather, finish has a bit of olive; tasty, heard that the olive and brine really came out with more air.
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Initially mossy and earthy, with a little time to breathe the aromas turn to violet, pepper, baking spices and blackberry. Drinks big, with some noticeable alcohol, a burst of ripe fruit, pepper and a hint of gaminess. Still a bit rough around the edges, but it comes together nicely with a little time to open up.
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So much went down on my way to finishing this bottle over two nights that I could write a novel based on the experience, or at minimum a long short story. Despite an overpowering urge to spew it all into this tasting note, I'm just going to tend to business. Easily the best SJ I've ever had. Powerful, nearly monolithic upon opening, it gradually revealed beautiful blackberry, pepper, and gravel notes that seemed to march in a fugue-like progression across my palate. It granted me the epiphany to call drinking it a "Bach-annal."
This is a serious and initially stoic wine in relative infancy, despite the fact that its charms are readily appreciable. I thought fleetingly of one of my favorite Piedmont producers, Flavio Roddolo, who makes old-fashioned wines that attain an almost military bearing in their youth. This is cut from the same cloth, although Chave is of course far better known. I bought this at retail on a Wednesday night when I felt like treating myself. It was $52 which is probably more than the average you could pay if you were able to find it, but I had not a single complaint.
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N: green edged, fern leaf.some pepper, none of the tapenade I am accustomed to from this bottling. P: Still a bit square, grippy tannins, moderate length. Grapey flavors. All in all, a reflection of the difficult vintage, other growers produced better St-Jo's (at a lower tariff). I will need to revisit again in about 2-3 years, if not more. Right now this isn't a compelling drop, and I certainly don't think this will make old bones. 13.5%abv.
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Surprisingly oaky at first, but it settles after some air. It's more enjoyable on the second day with the oak integrated into the background and revealing pure dark fruited flavours tinged with peppery and smoky notes. Solid, but I'm not making space in the cellar for this.
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Best showing of the 3 times I've had this. Medium weight. Some candied fruit, herbs and an attractive whiff of smoke. Gentle finish with good length. Not as dry or acidic as I have found it in the past.
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Slight funk on the nose, probably low level brett, which I often find on this wine. 08 vintage, bit weaker, not expecting a lot, so in a way this over-delivers with decent dark raspberry fruit, though on the lean side, with fairly strong acidity and a bit of tartness. OK, nothing particularly exciting.
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Chave Survey (Arlequin Wine Merchant, San Francisco): Medium and not completely clear. Light with a touch of sap. Quite weedy and herbal. High acid, gritty finish. Not bad but not up to the level of everything else, either. My least favorite wine tonight.
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Alcohol :: 13.5% Vibrant purplish ruby. The palate was a bit tight right out of the bottle but fan out really nicely after 30mins or so. The nose is light but perfume and focus, with loads of white pepper, red cherry intermixed with lavender and earth. This is really friendly on the palate, soft and juicy but with the old world restraint. A little bit of fine-grained tannin added better grip with bright acidity that leads to the short to medium length finish. Very friendly and little complexity, drinking really well especially with the Cote du Bouef. The ladies like it too.
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6/26/2022 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Someone on CT says “past its prime” but this is just barely reaching its prime. The aromatics still show a bit of youthful red fruit, but there is the leathery, stony, smoky complexity. Palate is definitely softening, but there is that acidity of a less ripe vintage to keep an edge on things. Overall it’s balanced, but a little bit fierce. Old school wine from an old school vintage. Drink now and for many years to come.
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2/14/2020 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine:
From the wine list at Legacy Records. Decanted and served - consumed over the course of dinner. Quite earthy and a bit herbaceous with green stemmy notes on the finish, red berries, medium weight and savory. Not the most riveting vintage, but still quite enjoyable particularly with beef tenderloin.
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10/14/2019 - AndrewR wrote: 88 Points
Pepper and more pepper. And past its prime, drink up.
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7/22/2019 - tastark Likes this wine:
Drinking well. Definitely showing it's cool-vintage pedigree with some herbaceous notes on the nose and palate, though not off putting. You might confuse this with Loire valley cab franc, though it's missing a bit of tannin and still has some tell-tale Syrah pepper going on. A "pretty" version of Syrah is what I'd say. Feminine.
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3/31/2019 - jdkrabbe wrote: 90 Points
Medium transparency clay colour, little rim variation for being 11 years old. Rubber new shoe smells. Black fruit. Earthy, manure. High acidity. Med-high volatile acidity. Long strong finish. Good, not great.
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12/12/2018 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Pulled from very cold storage, this is still tight. 24 hours of air brought out a little more fruit, but this needs 3-5 more years. It had surprising breadth on the palate for the lean 2008 vintage, and with some more development it could be a real star.
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3/21/2018 - alanr wrote: 92 Points
Dinner with Jean-Louis Chave (Heirloom Cafe, San Francisco): Wonderful savory nose, palate shows fabulous, soaring fruit, rich and bright, great acidity, mild tannins, young but drinking beautifully.
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3/21/2018 - aagrawal wrote: 91 Points
Dinner with Jean Louis Chave (Heirloom cafe): Aromatic, clean, a bit fresher and minerally than the 2010, still has plenty of aromatic complexity with black pepper, spice, blueberry; palate is medium bodied, medium-plus acidity, fresh, balanced black and blue fruit; medium finish. Superb for the price, just a half step back from the truly great 2010. 91
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5/22/2016 - Biscomusic Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful bottle. Loads of blueberry and pepper. Old world tannin running across the sides of your mouth. Delicate but forceful, a solid bottle
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4/2/2016 - galenico Does not like this wine: 85 Points
RODANO AIS TORINO: Frutto acidulo avvolto da una coltre ematica e selvatica. Buona vena mentolata e sensazione di freschezza. La bocca è acidissima, immatura e cruda. Tannino da caco verde. Niente di che, un vinello rustico che non fa onore al nome di Chave.
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1/8/2015 - Zweder wrote: 90 Points
Monthly tasting club LTC 2015-01; Northern Rhône plus some pirates. (@ DJ): The bouquet is still a bit locked, but shows blood, minerals and metal. On the palate juicy dark and red berry fruits, beautiful acidity and bitterness and round, slightly sticky tannin. Wait until 2017 – 2020+. 90+ for tonight.
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12/23/2014 - S_stas wrote: 91 Points
Needs air, and undoubtably more time in bottle. After 4 hours it is just starting to release some interesting fruit and floral on the nose, but it's hard to pin down. Earlier it was singularly black pepper, almost stereotypically St. Joe, but it's since changed. Medium bodied, with serious grip, and nice acidity. I can't afford the Hermitage, so I'll have to wait to see how these develop.
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12/13/2014 - smphelps wrote: 89 Points
Part of a three bottle non blind vertical tasting from this producer covering 2008,2009 and 2010. This 2008 opened nicely showing powerful white pepper, mushroom moss and dark fruit. Compared to the 2009 and 2010 versions, this was a bit shorter with less back end vitality. Dark violet.
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11/16/2014 - MEKWINE Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank over two nights. Regret not decanting it the first evening, a very quiet and timid wine, which opened up beautifully onnthe second evening. A very expressive wine, not flaunty, elegant and refined: cherry fruits, pepper and forest floor aromas. Fine tannins and balanced acidity, a decent long mineral finish. An enjoyable wine, one which shall remain in the pits of my cellar for a few more years.
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9/30/2014 - Rezy13 wrote:
Dark dense core with reddish violet rim; sour plum, spice, leather, sour cherry; good density, spicy, cranberry, leather, finish has a bit of olive; tasty, heard that the olive and brine really came out with more air.
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8/23/2014 - stvjackson wrote: 91 Points
Initially mossy and earthy, with a little time to breathe the aromas turn to violet, pepper, baking spices and blackberry. Drinks big, with some noticeable alcohol, a burst of ripe fruit, pepper and a hint of gaminess. Still a bit rough around the edges, but it comes together nicely with a little time to open up.
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3/14/2014 - bevetroppo Likes this wine: 92 Points
So much went down on my way to finishing this bottle over two nights that I could write a novel based on the experience, or at minimum a long short story. Despite an overpowering urge to spew it all into this tasting note, I'm just going to tend to business. Easily the best SJ I've ever had. Powerful, nearly monolithic upon opening, it gradually revealed beautiful blackberry, pepper, and gravel notes that seemed to march in a fugue-like progression across my palate. It granted me the epiphany to call drinking it a "Bach-annal."
This is a serious and initially stoic wine in relative infancy, despite the fact that its charms are readily appreciable. I thought fleetingly of one of my favorite Piedmont producers, Flavio Roddolo, who makes old-fashioned wines that attain an almost military bearing in their youth. This is cut from the same cloth, although Chave is of course far better known. I bought this at retail on a Wednesday night when I felt like treating myself. It was $52 which is probably more than the average you could pay if you were able to find it, but I had not a single complaint.
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7/26/2013 - Apburn wrote: 85 Points
Ground pepper, graphite, black cherry nose, some earth. Smooth tannin not grippy. Good, high acid. Nice finish. Little fruit in the middle.
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7/12/2013 - beachbum wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful chave texture and finish, perfect with a steak, lighter vintage that I might drink sooner, but no immediate rush
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4/12/2012 - Tony Molester wrote:
N: green edged, fern leaf.some pepper, none of the tapenade I am accustomed to from this bottling.
P: Still a bit square, grippy tannins, moderate length. Grapey flavors.
All in all, a reflection of the difficult vintage, other growers produced better St-Jo's (at a lower tariff).
I will need to revisit again in about 2-3 years, if not more. Right now this isn't a compelling drop, and I certainly don't think this will make old bones.
13.5%abv.
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2/23/2012 - salil wrote: 87 Points
Surprisingly oaky at first, but it settles after some air. It's more enjoyable on the second day with the oak integrated into the background and revealing pure dark fruited flavours tinged with peppery and smoky notes. Solid, but I'm not making space in the cellar for this.
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1/14/2012 - drwine2001 wrote:
Best showing of the 3 times I've had this. Medium weight. Some candied fruit, herbs and an attractive whiff of smoke. Gentle finish with good length. Not as dry or acidic as I have found it in the past.
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1/2/2012 - alanr wrote: 88 Points
Slight funk on the nose, probably low level brett, which I often find on this wine. 08 vintage, bit weaker, not expecting a lot, so in a way this over-delivers with decent dark raspberry fruit, though on the lean side, with fairly strong acidity and a bit of tartness. OK, nothing particularly exciting.
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12/23/2011 - Tige wrote: 86 Points
Floral. Épices. Poivre. Bonne longueur mais un peu acide. Alcool assez présent, jeune, passage en carafe pertinent.
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10/27/2011 - anonymoose12345 Likes this wine: 91 Points
A tremendously big wine, very interesting with complex fruit on the nose and palate.
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10/27/2011 - drwine2001 wrote:
Chave Survey (Arlequin Wine Merchant, San Francisco): Medium and not completely clear. Light with a touch of sap. Quite weedy and herbal. High acid, gritty finish. Not bad but not up to the level of everything else, either. My least favorite wine tonight.
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9/3/2011 - Sleepy Dave wrote: 85 Points
Alcohol :: 13.5%
Vibrant purplish ruby. The palate was a bit tight right out of the bottle but fan out really nicely after 30mins or so. The nose is light but perfume and focus, with loads of white pepper, red cherry intermixed with lavender and earth. This is really friendly on the palate, soft and juicy but with the old world restraint. A little bit of fine-grained tannin added better grip with bright acidity that leads to the short to medium length finish. Very friendly and little complexity, drinking really well especially with the Cote du Bouef. The ladies like it too.
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6/18/2011 - drwine2001 wrote:
Northern Rhone Releases Around the Bay (Beltramo's, Menlo Park and San Francisco Wine Trading Company): Medium color. All soil on the nose, in fact, much more so than anything else today. Medium weight, very accessible now. One gets the sense of slightly underripe fruit that holds up until the finish, where the flavor interest rapidly tails off. Not bad but certainly not worth it.
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