Crush: Northern Rhone

2007 Jean-Louis Chave St-Joseph

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:39:42 -0500

The Real St-Joseph, Please Stand Up 2007 Jean-Louis Chave St-Joseph The Complement to Hermitage, Less Than a Third of the Price "The issue is that St-Joseph as an appellation doesn't mean much..." - Jean-Louis Chave Except, of course, in his own case.

No big surprise, really, that Jean-Louis stated it flat-out to Wine Spectator last fall... most will agree that the appellation, sadly, has sprawled too far, hasn't maintained enough specificity.

Not in the case of Chave. Here is the region's benchmark, the beau ideal, the "O.G." if you like.

This is head-turning, terroir-screaming, reference point St-Joseph Syrah from one of the exemplars of the Northern Rhone. Today we offer this super-allocated St-Joseph at $53.40 a bottle.

A Piece of My Heart: Chave Hermitage, 2007

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:32:21 -0500

The Virtuoso of Hermitage 2007 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge "A Model of Controlled Grandeur" The only suitable comparison to this kind of masterful blending is that of the great chefs de caves of Champagne.

Jean-Louis Chave has a gift for crafting absolutely transcendent Hermitage. Chave is one of the few producers I buy, unflinchingly, year after year. These are cornerstone wines in any serious collection; they are monumental expressions of Syrah.

Back-Vintage Chave Hermitage: Impeccable Provenance

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:01:45 -0500

J.L. Chave Hermitage Blanc: 1995-2000 Ideal Provenance - Unreal Prices - Surreal Wines Luxurious, dizzying, quixotic, kaleidoscopic, even mysterious. Chave's great Hermitage Blancs need so much more time than you think, but when they finally reveal themselves... ...whoa.

We've confirmed this once again this week, popping corks on a pristine collection of back-vintage Chave as if it were the Fourth of July, corks from half-bottles, full bottles and magnums flying through the air instead of fireworks.

This email goes out today because if it didn't the parcel would disappear, through our own indulgence. (Seriously.)

Everyone who thinks they understand Rhône whites, think again. And think again seriously, because these are not just any Rhône Blancs; these are the flower-inspired monuments of the appellation, masterpieces from none other than Jean-Louis Chave.