JEAN-LOUIS CHAVE - Hermitage - 2018

JEAN-LOUIS CHAVE

Hermitage 2018

Lastly, the 2018 Hermitage is still resting in its individual components, and it’s such an education tasting through the samples from Bessards, Péléat, Méal, and Beaumes. In some years, each terroir is easy to see (the spice and complexity from Péléat, the opulence from the Méal, etc.), yet in 2018, the Méal was more structured and inward and the l’Ermite was shockingly opulent and powerful. The crème de la crème was the sample from Les Bessards, and wine doesn’t get any better than that in my opinion. Regardless, all the samples possess incredible quality and show classic, powerful aromatics reminiscent of a classic, almost cooler year paired with massive richness, depth, and structure on the palate. Possibly coming closest in my mind to a hypothetical mix of the 2009 and 2010, this is a legendary Chave Hermitage in the making.

December 2019


About Jeb Dunnuck

The JebDunnuck.com website is a subscription based, bi-monthly publication dedicated to providing cutting-edge, independent commentary and reviews on the top wines and wine regions of the world. While my core editorial focus is to cover Southern France, Bordeaux, California and Washington, I also plan to give readers periodic articles on other world-class and emerging global wine regions, as well as in-depth coverage on the wine portfolios of top US importers.