Hermitage 2021

JEAN-LOUIS CHAVE

Hermitage
2021

Country
France
Regulated designation
Appellation origine controlée (AOC)
Region
Rhône Valley
Subregion
Northern Rhone
Appellation
Hermitage
Varietal(s)
Syrah 100 %
Colour
Red
Producer's website
Click here

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 -

February 2022 (Vintage 2019)

A potential candidate for the wine of the vintage, the 2019 Hermitage is a massive, full-bodied, yet mineral-laced and undeniably classic wine from this estate. All of the components showed incredibly well, with the Le Méal offering classic sexiness, the Hermite being straight and focused, and the Bessards just as good as any Syrah out there. It shows the ripeness of the vintage, yet the purity of fruit is incredible. It’s another magical wine in an incredible series of awesome Hermitage from this family.

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Decanter

- 97 points -

October 2020 (Vintage 2019)

A tasting of barrel samples of different lieux-dits: Péléat, Beaumes, Ermite, Le Méal, Bessards. Long, slow fermentations due to the high potential alcohols this year, some barrels reaching over 15% - at the limit of what the indigenous yeasts can handle. Even the Bessards component, which is usually so strict and skeletal, is full of fruit this year. The last exceptionally hot year was 2003, which produced a wine that was highly atypical, with notably jammy fruit. That's not the case in 2019 - the fruit is fresh and lively. It's hard to make a judgement at this stage; the alcohol is high, and may always feel warming. Either way, it will provide great pleasure and impact, despite its extreme style.

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Wine Spectator

- 97 points -

(Vintage 2018)

Gorgeously pure, with plum coulis, cassis, cherry purée and blackberry preserve flavors that are finely detailed and interwoven with singed anise, sweet tobacco and warm earth accents, then gilded with a subtle alder note through the finish. Long, very fine-grained and extremely precise

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Decanter

- 96 points -

September 2019

A tasting of five lieux-dits points to a ripe, rich, dark-fruited vintage with high but not unbalanced alcohol. This is opulent with liqueur fruits and deep concentration. It's very ripe, but shows no raisined or jammy character, and has remarkably freshness considering its opulence. 2018 is all about ripeness, says Jean-Louis Chave. Picking the fruit promptly was important; ‘We had to pick on a Sunday - and we've never picked on a Sunday before.’ He reduced the maceration time this year and avoided punching down completely to avoid over-extraction.

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Vinous

(97-98) POINTS

May 2020

Tasted in components. #1, from Peleat: suave and highly perfumed, with distinct red fruit preserve and floral character. Smooth, seamless and almost Pinot-like in its vibrant and weightless character. Extremely well-hidden tannins come in late. #2, from Les Beaume; #3, from Ermite, #4, from Meal, #5, from Bessards.

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Jeb Dunnuck

(98-100) POINTS

December 2019

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.

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Vinous

(97-99) Points

Josh Raynolds, December 2022 (Vintage 2020)

Tasted in components, before the final blending and rest before bottling, this wine is shaping up to be monumental, and it's from a domaine that has made far more than a few remarkable wines. There's intense dark fruit, suave floral and exotic spice character and a deep, energizing core of minerality, plus hints of olive, botanical herbs, licorice and smoked meat. But ultimately, it mainly focuses on powerful, vibrant fruit and floral qualities, making it a particularly elegant rendition of the appellation. I can't wait to see the bottled result.

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Jeb Dunnuck

98-100 Points

December 2022 (Vintage 2020)

Tasted out of tank, the 2020 Hermitage ranks with the legendary wines from this address. Reminding me of a slightly more elegant version of the 2010, it's a deep, inky hued effort revealing utterly classic Hermitage aromatics of darker cassis and blue fruits as well as a liquid rock-like sense of minerality. Young and primordial, it still has incredible purity and freshness in its aromatics. Full-bodied and powerful on the palate, this gorgeous wine is going to shine with just 4-6 years of bottle age yet age with the best of them. I would not be surprised to see this beauty have 40, 50, or even 60 years of life.

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