Hermitage Blanc 2020

JEAN-LOUIS CHAVE

Hermitage Blanc
2020

Country
France
Regulated designation
Appellation origine controlée (AOC)
Region
Rhône Valley
Subregion
Northern Rhone
Appellation
Hermitage
Varietal(s)
Marsanne 50 %
Roussanne 50 %
Colour
White
Producer's website

About this winery

The Chave family is the epitome of People, Place and Time. They have been vignerons in the Rhône valley since 1481, passing the torch from father to son for an astonishing 16 generations. Originally the family farmed only in St. Joseph and moved to Hermitage about a century ago when phylloxera swept through the region. Today their Hermitage Rouge and Hermitage Blanc are generally regarded as the appellation's greatest wines. In recent years Jean Louis has begun the painstaking process of...

See the JEAN-LOUIS CHAVE detail page for more information on this brand

Press reviews

Jeb Dunnuck

- 99 points -

December 2022 (Vintage 2020)

Another heavenly white from this estate is the 2020 Hermitage Blanc, which is the usual 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne from a mix lieux-dits. Incredibly perfumed with notes of acacia flowers, buttered stone fruits, toasted brioche, honeysuckle, and crushed stone, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a seamless, layered texture, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a great finish. The purity, balance, and intensity here are just about off the charts, and this beauty deserves a solid decade of bottle age, although you'll be excused if you drink one in its youth as well.

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Jeb Dunnuck

- 98 points -

February 2022 (Vintage 2019)

Another incredible white from this family is the 2019 Hermitage Blanc, a powerful, concentrated, and remarkably pure Hermitage that has laser-like focus as well as textbook Marsanne notes of quince, green almond, powdered rock, licorice, and spice. It’s still tight, focused, and inward at present, yet it reminds me of the 2018 with its purity and rare mix of power and elegance. It’s worth trying a bottle any time over the coming 3-5 years, but after that, I’d recommend waiting until after 2031.

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Wine Spectator

- 97 points -

(Vintage 2018)

Beguiling, thanks to a creamy, caressing mouthfeel that belies the definition and range that lies within. Showcases mirabelle plum, white peach, Cavaillon melon, heather, salted butter, apricot and bitter almond notes that all weave together, with flashes of jasmine, brioche and macadamia nut. The long finish sails through effortlessly, despite its obvious weight and depth. A luxurious wine.

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Decanter

- 96 points -

October 2020 (Vintage 2019)

A tasting of barrel samples of different lieux-dits: Les Rocoules, Péléat and Ermite paint a picture of an exceptionally rich and opulent white Hermitage, with great textural generosity and fat, relatively low acidity and fairly high alcohol. The main problem was the speed with which the grapes were taking on sugar at the end of the season, so all the whites were picked in just two days (normally it takes five days), including a Sunday - only the second time they have done this, the previous time due to rot. An atypically large-framed vintage, that will provide plenty of succulent, rich pleasure over the years.

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Wine Advocate

(96-98) Points

Joe Czerwinski, January 2022 (Vintage 2020)

I tasted five different lots that will be blended into the 2020 Hermitage Blanc, from Péléat, l'Ermite and three parts of Les Rocoules. Full-bodied, honeyed and rich, this should be another outstanding vintage for Chave's white, with the incredible lushness of the bigger wines balanced by the zestiness found at the top of Les Rocoules and the delicacy and freshness of L'Ermite.

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Vinous

(96-97) POINTS

May 2020

Tasted in components. #1) Rocoules Haut: A touch of iodine, smoky, mineral-accented orchard and pit fruits on the nose and palate. Chewy and precise, with no excess fat and a building mineral flourish. #2) Rocoules mid-slope: Taut and energetic in style, showing very good depth to its juicy Anjou pear, yellow apple and honeysuckle flavors. Plays richness off of energy with a steady hand. #3) Rocoules Bas: Nectarine, honey and floral qualities are sharpened by a suggestion of orange zest. Weighty yet precise, with a jolt of minerality adding back-end grip. #4) Peleat: Lively and precise, offering intense citrus, orchard fruit flavors, building iodine and smoky mineral nuances. Very long and tight, with a sexy floral nuance emerging steadily. #5) Peleat old vines: Deeply perfumed pear nectar and orange marmalade qualities on the nose and palate. Becomes livelier with a bit of air and shows fine delineation on the back half. These vines are at least 120 years old, Jean-Louis Chave told me. #6) Ermite: Emphatically mineral and precise on the nose, displaying vibrant Meyer lemon, white peach and floral qualities and a strong mineral overtone. Chewy and tightly wound, with superb depth, serious closing energy and repeating florality.

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James Suckling

(96-97) POINTS

October 2019

The thickness of the skins on Chave’s old vine parcels is what gives this wine its unrestricted depth and intensity, as well as it s ability to age for a very long time. Aromas run from very pretty and floral, through peaches and lemons and into crushed and grilled nuts. The palate is such a textural essay with an attractively youthful and pithy shunt of tannin that underwrites a considerably long finish and long cellaring potential.

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