DOMAINE JEAN-LOUIS CHAVE
LVT 2018 r 2018 wh An STGT domaine that produces supremely elegant wines with superb pedigree from the core of the Hermitage hill. Grand finesse and world class quality here. The reds can live for decades - around 30 years and occasionally even longer. They have softened up in recent vintages and drink from an earlier date than they used to. The Chaves make wonderful whites, their richness profound and captivating. They show particularly well from around six to seven years old, and benefit from that cellar age.
There are also handy Saint-Joseph reds that are fruited and stylish. They have gained body and grip as their vineyard has moved past 20 years old. From 2015 there has been a 3,000 bottle Saint-Joseph Clos Florentin red, based on 100 year old Syrah on the Clos de l'Arbalestrier which the Chaves bought in 2009. The J-L Chave Sélection range of Hermitage (Farconnet red, Blanche white), Saint-Joseph (Offerus red, Circa white) and Côtes du Rhône (Mon Coeur) are designed to be easy drinking, fun wines. The Mon Coeur 2018 captured the fruit-forward vintage very well, a **** w.o.w. wine.
Gérard, son Jean-Louis Chave 37 Avenue de Saint-Joseph le Village 07300 Mauves
Tel: +33(0)475 08 24 63
Countries exported to:1) USA 2) GB 3) Belgium
Percentage Exported: 60%
British Importers: Yapp Brothers, +44(0)1747 860 423, www.yapp.co.uk A & B Vintners Little Tawsden Spout Lane Brenchley Kent TN12 7AS +44(0)1892 724977 www.abvintners.co.uk info@abvintners.co.uk
USA Importers: Erin Cannon Wine Imports for NY, Washington, Florida, Missouri; Shiverich, S California
Quotes
"Cathelin contains the same wines as the main cuvée, but the percentage is different, and the seven sites are blended differently. It doesn´t contain more new oak, and we make the selection late on, after the eighteen months cask raising."
Jean-Louis Chave
"I suggest drinking the white either young, when it is two to three years´ old, or from seven years onwards. It will always go through a closed phase after about three years. A rich year is capable of infinite life."
Jean-Louis Chave
"2003 was a real balancing act. If we got the wrong 5% extra in the wine, we found the assemblage (blend) became heavy and overdone - for both the red and the white."
Jean-Louis Chave
“With Offerus, I seek to give an introduction to the Saint-Joseph appellation – so it is not a massive wine. More it is a simple but not facile wine, with fruit, spice, good acidity – a reflection of the granite facing east.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“I have never experienced wines like our 2003 reds and whites in my career. We waited until mid-September – around us, people had started in mid-August. The wines are powerful, but fine at the same time, and the white, for instance, is not flat.”
Gérard Chave
“We used to bottle the Saint-Joseph too early; instead of just 228-litre ageing, I use that size then large barrel of 1200 litres; the barrel allows us to keep freshness in the wine.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“2007 is a good surprise – the wines have tuned out well – they have good fruit. August wasn`t good and September was very fine so it was not a given as a vintage. At first the wines were too charming, but have gained a belle line of tannin.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“There are some great 2009 whites – often not the case when you have a very good red wine vintage.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“2010 is exceptional. The very best 2009s may be better, but there are lots of good 2010s. We had coulure (flowers failing to convert into fruit) on our very old Syrah, but we then hit another problem, that of an irregular distribution of bunches – some plants had no bunches, others had 10.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“The 2009s started to explode and gain in dimension since the end of summer 2010. The only wine I racked before November 2010 was Péléat.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“In 2009 we have enough matter to make a Cathelin, without taking away from the rest of the wines. The last Cathelin was 2003.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“2009 is more profound than 1999. 1990 is more like 2010 than 2009. The 2009 reds need a lot of time in cask to become more supple.” July 2011
Jean-Louis Chave
"People ask me how much Roussanne there is in the white wine; when the vines are 100 years` old, it is hard to distinguish between the Marsanne and the Roussanne vines.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“Les Bessards is the bones and spirit of Hermitage; it`s very hard to make Hermitage without it.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“I want to prolong the raising of my white Hermitage, for example during one winter more, and our new cellar will help me to do that.” Nov 2012
Jean-Louis Chave
“There was a lot of coulure on the white crop in 2010, and the beauty of it was the balance, even with a small crop. The work of the assembly was to give it a bit more weight without heaviness. Our white Hermitage 2010 resembles a good 1996 or 1991.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“2011 is a more serious vintage than 2012 – 2012 got the headlines because it was open and up front, and is a sympa year. 2012 is a bit like 2000 – the tannins on the reds are supple.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“The 1.5 hectares planted at Lemps took 12 years to clear and plant.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“My new oak runs at around 5%, for example, in 2014. New oak and Syrah are not made for one another, unless you are seeking to make a deliberate style of wine, rather than a terroir wine. Pinot Noir and new oak can work since Pinot can need new oak, as it lacks tannin.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“2013 was my most out of the ordinary vintage I have known. 2010 was the best year in my experience.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“Maison Blanche for us is our smallest contributor to the white; for Paul Jaboulet Ainé who want freshness, light wines, it is the most important contributor.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“The 2017 St Joseph classic red will live on its granite, in a different way Le Clos 2017, which will live on its concentration, the finesse of the tannins and the sun of the place, Le Clos. The tannins on Le Clos are more supple than the classic St Jo’s.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“Blending is like music: one note means noise, two notes you make music.”
Gérard Chave
“The 2017 St Joseph classic red will live on its granite, in a different way to Le Clos St Jo 2017, which will live on its concentration, the finesse of the tannins and the sun of the place - Le Clos. The 2017 tannins on Le Clos are more supple than the classic St Jo’s.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“It was indispensable to harvest the 2018 white crop early – with grape colours ranging from pale yellow to dark brown – and very quickly. 2018 holds greater freshness than 2017, both in white and red. The spring in 2018 was poor, wet, with treatments against mildew needed. Then we went straight into a hot summer – June and July were very beau, and by the end of July, the vineyard needed rain. Along came the miracle of a belle rain of 30 mm (1.2 in) in mid-August, and the vineyard avoided suffering from drought, and ripening was boosted. After that, it became extremely hot, and the vines were once more under pressure; 10 mm (0.4 in) in early September resolved that, and released the vines from their blockage.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“Dardouille at Saint-Joseph is like Le Clos at Mauves – granite with clay – so is more like Méal than Bessards at Hermitage.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“In both 2018 and 2019, the vines never suffered from drought because we had well-timed rain in both vintages. In 2019 there was very fast ripening in early September, and we harvested fast, including on a Sunday. It’s not easy to place 2018 with a previous vintage, but then along came 2019, which is like 2018, though there’s a bit more sugar in 2019.”
Jean-Louis Chave
“You can have Syrah at 14° nowadays, but the phenolic ripening won’t have occurred.” Dec 2019
Jean-Louis Chave
