On Friday night Ian came into the back office and declared "I'm going to open my '04 Chave Hermitage Rouge" I advised against opening the bottle arguing that it would be a waste. The wine was way too young and would probably be shut down. I have had examples of mature Chave and patience is definitely rewarded. The bottle was a gift and for those of us who are lucky enough to work in the industry if you don't pay for the bottle you rarely feel guilt about cracking the bottle. Ian shrugged off my pleas for him to not make any rash moves. It was popped, poured into a decanter and off we went.

I could not wait to be cynical and jaded. I knew the wine would be closed and I could say "see I told you so, you should have waited" with great satisfaction. I can be a childish about these sort of things. At least I thought we could have opened it, given it more air time and maybe had it with a giant lamb shank.

But I couldn't be cynical, even with the depressingly bad weather of February. I poured myself a healthy glass and hide in the back office. The perfume was instantly satisfying and I knew that my tail would be between my legs for ever protesting. The nose within ten minutes was appealing and had all the signs of being terrific Syrah. Notes of cassis, black olive, anise, white pepper and minerals. The fruit was very pretty and elegant with great balancing acidity. I was shocked how lovely it was. This wine really should have been backward and austere. It had great balance and concentration, some said almost Cali like but I think it was more retrained then most Cali Syrahs. The structure was certainly present but it was integrated with the fruit quite well for being so young. And oh the minerals. An extremely well put together wine and a great example of why Chave is the king of Hermitage. The only question is, how much better will this get? Probably a lot, but who cares, it was darn tasty Friday night. Thanks Ian for sharing the bottle with all of us.

If cracking bottles '04 Chave for no reason seems a bit silly and frivolous you can always pick up a bottle Texier CDR or Edmunds St. John Syrah. Both are delicious, elegant examples of what highly perfumed Syrah can be like. And both are around the $30 price point so no guilty feeling or angry partner in the morning. Cheers all!

Rigor, Discipline and Tradition in Côte-Rôtie
2007 Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche

"There is no more consistently great wine in our portfolio than Levet's La Chavaroche... If you want the truest of Côte-Rôties... if you admire both the intellectual and the savage, then this is a must-buy wine." -Neal Rosenthal

It's been almost three years since we've offered the great Côte-Rôties of Bernard Levet.

These are among the truest expressions of Syrah; unapologetic, raw, mineral, soaring, stunningly pure and beautiful.

A String of Knockouts from the Champ
Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 2003-2005
Back-Vintage Parcel: Perfect Provenance, Sharp Pricing

"No tricks. Other than the existence of Hermitage itself."
-Andrew Jefford, The New France

Jean-Louis Chave has a gift for crafting absolutely transcendent Hermitage. These are cornerstone wines in any serious collection - beautiful fusions of power with elegance, embellishment joined with focus. This is the genius of Chave.

Back-Vintage Côte-Rôtie
2001 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis
Baby "La La's" at 50-80% Off

"A qualitative locomotive..."

That’s what Robert Parker has called Marcel Guigal.

Guigal has essentially defined Côte-Rôtie for much of the 20th Century; his Syrahs have a fierce authenticity that is undeniable.

Today, we offer a small parcel of back-vintage Guigal Côte-Rôtie. The 2001 Ampuis comes to the table with a decade of perfect cellaring and is just entering its sweet spot.

The 2007 is a benchmark Cornas - powerful, dense, almost in spite of the vintage. While the Southern Rhône enjoyed a glorious 2007, the north proved more difficult. The cool summer weather led into a difficult August. Only the fair September weather saved the vintage and those estates, like Clape, that waited to harvest made beautiful wines that are both supple and structured. Tanzer's IWC tasting notes are below.

The Real St-Joseph, Please Stand Up
2007 Jean-Louis Chave St-Joseph
The Complement to Hermitage,
Less Than a Third of the Price

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.

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.

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.

There's not much more to say about Auguste and Pierre-Marie Clape that hasn't already been said 1,000 times. Auguste, the father, worked his first harvest in Cornas in 1949; the Clape family has been a pillar of the community, of the appellation, of the culture of Cornas ever since.

White Burgundy vs. Riesling vs. ...
Hermitage Blanc?
2005 Guigal Hermitage Ex Voto Blanc
Over 30% Below the Lowest Price in the Nation

"Along with the late Thomas Jefferson, Guigal has always believed that white Hermitage is France's greatest white wine. With his recent acquisitions of superb vineyard sites, he is hell-bent on proving to the world that Jefferson was correct..."
- Robert Parker

Honestly, we very rarely make a fuss over Rhone whites. Usually, they’re completely ignored in our fiery debates over the best white wine in the world (half the staff is adamant it's white Burgundy, the others insist it's German Riesling). This is an almost daily exercise.

But when we tasted Guigal’s Ex Voto Blanc, we all got a little quiet, glancing at each other with conceding looks: “Is this really as good as I think it is??”