Domaine Jean-Louis Chave - L' Hermitage 2022 (Red)

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave is a powerhouse producer located in the northern Rhône, making wine under the Hermitage and Saint-Joseph appellations. Chave's red and white Hermitage wines – based on Syrah and Marsanne and Roussanne respectively – are some of the most important in the Rhône Valley, commanding high prices and high demand from collectors and aficionados.

The estate has 14.5 hectares (36 acres) of land in Hermitage, making it one of the largest land owners in the appellation. The vineyards were planted when the Chave family arrived in Hermitage in the late 19th Century after phylloxera had devastated much of France. The vineyards were terraced and today cover eight different plots on the hill, providing a range of mesoclimates and terroirs for the Chave wines. Many of the vines are between 30 and 60 years old.

Generally 100% destemmed, as the Hermitage is meant to be about the expression of the individual vineyards and soils and Jean-Louis believes that stems have a tendency to level out the differences. Fermentation in wood tonneaux and stainless steel tanks. Aged in barriques for 30 months.

"A tasting of the different lieux-dits showed how the different soil types reacted to the drought. Granite-based parcels suffered blockages in ripening and finished at 13% alcohol; the clay-based terroirs didn’t stop ripening and finished at 15%. The overall blend will be powerful but fragrant, complex and stylistically sits within other recent dry and hot vintages, and isn’t outside the current norm." - 98 Points, Decanter

"I tasted various separately vinified lieux-dits that will evntually curate the 2022 L’Hermitage. Both the L’Ermite and Les Bessards, the cuvée’s backbone, show terrific structure, finesse and complexity. I am totally taken by the sheer beauty of the Les Beaumes with its striking inner energy and mesmerizing floral lift of the Péléat. Cropped at an overall 30 hL/ha, the ripeness of the vintage is skillfully balanced by lifting freshness throughout all components. I can’t wait to taste the final result." - 98 Points, Vinous

"The 2022 Hermitage will be a beauty, but it has the focused, firmer, straight style of the vintage. As usual, I was able to taste through all of the Lieux-dits: Péléat, Les Beaumes, L’Érmite, Le Méal, and Les Bessards, all being mid-to upper-90s ratings, the standouts being L’Érmite and Bessards, with the Méal possessing a more focused, tannic style than normal. All of the barrels I was able to taste had remarkable purity, beautiful overall balance, and classic Hermitage class, with an incredible sense of minerality. This is a great wine, buts it’s going to take a decade of bottle age. The firmer structure and incredible minerality actually remind me of the 1998, although I think there’s a touch more sun-kissed fruit here." - 97 Points, Jeb Dunnuck

Producer: Domaine Jean-Louis Chave 

Country: France

Region: Rhône Valley

Varietal: Syrah

Appellation: Hermitage

Vintage: 2022

Size: 750ml