The Rhone Valley region (and its neighbour just to the north, Burgundy) is in no shortfall of winemaking royalty, with family names that command great reverence, respect, and of course price tags. Yet, few can come close to one particular name in terms of historic value - that is the Chave family.

The Chave family has been making wines in Rhone for a staggering 16 generations, tracing their lineage all the way back to 1481. Yet whilst the Chave name is today most associated with the highly prized Hermitage appellation, the family had actually found their beginnings up further north in St Joseph. It wasn't until the "simple farming" Chave family, as 16th generation Jean-Louis Chave who now helms the family's winery puts it, found themselves the opportunity in the mid-1800's to acquire land in Hermitage as a result of the devastation of phylloxera and the movement into the Industrial Revolution that had left the land unwanted.

Hermitage hill from Crozes-Hermitage.

If not for those black swan events, Hermitage would have stayed firmly in the hands of the aristocracy (or the church), as it's highly prized nature has been well understood for centuries - it is after all said to be the birthplace of Syrah, and till this day remains the pinnacle of French Syrah, offering a rare combination of structure and aromatic intensity.

Yet as the Industrial Revolution rolled on, aristocrats would quickly find themselves overturned and would be forced to sell their land. This also came at a time when phylloxera had critically damaged vineyards all across Europe and thus made vineyards worthless. This was unless its owner was willing to put in the heavy labour for the next 2-3 decades in order to cultivate the vines from scratch once again. This worked out well for the Chave family who were committed growers and not only knew the land well and what needed to be done, but were also willing to put in the hard work to bring the vineyards back to life. With Hermitage land prices collapsing, the Chave family would find themselves moving down south.

An hour's drive away yet the two appellations could not be more different.

Although just an hour's drive along the Rhone River between the two appellations, Hermitage and Saint Joseph could not be more polar opposite in what they are known for producing. Where Hermitage is south facing, St Joseph is east facing, which has typically resulted in fruit produced in Hermitage seen to be achieving ideal ripeness, whereas St Joseph has often be thought of as producing unripe fruit - of course that has begun to change in the advent of climate change that has brought about greater ripeness in St Joseph.

Nevertheless over several generations, as in particular in the time of Jean-Louis' father Gerard, the Chave family would be able to assemble a mosaic of land parcels in Hermitage, today amounting to some 13.9 hectares of vines in the region (35 hectares in total, including St Joseph). Some of the family's most prominent vineyards includes Les Bessards, Le Méal, Les Roucoles, Maison Blanche and L’Hermite and Peléat. Here the soils can vary greatly, but are broadly granite rich, with also limestone, loess and sand, all along the steep ridges that makes it difficult to harvest in any other manner besides by hand, with yields remaining low. Here the Chave family farms its fruit organically, with vinification done in the family's winery located in the village of Mauves.

Gerard Chave and Jean-Louis Chave.

Winemaking, as has been done from generation to generation, remains traditional. For the Syrah-based reds, the fully ripe fruit is mostly destemmed, with maceration done by punching down, after which the wine undergoes minimal intervention and no filtering, with simply 18 months of aging in a small amount of new wood. The Marsanne-focused (from a single plot of 100 year old vines in the Péléat monopole) whites are whole cluster pressed and 90% barrel fermented in one-third new oak, before a further 18 months of ageing. Each plot is vinified separately in wood and cement vessels, allowing for each parcel to be developed into its own cuvee.

Yet where the real magic happens is in the blending.

Jean-Louis Chave in the cellars.

As much as single vineyard expressions are today highly prized and lauded, the Chave's persistently refuse to release a single cru Hermitage. “We create a wine that no early taster knows. Every year we start from zero in assembling the blend.” says 15th-generation Gerard Chave. And thus each harvest and vintage, the blend is assembled from scratch, with the components and percentages changing each year, with the only constant being the Syrah from the Bessards vineyard that forms for the cuvee's core. “Bessards is our essential climat; you can’t make a Grand Hermitage without it.” For the Chave's the ultimate goal is to create a harmonious expression that captures the nuances and multi-faceted character of Hermitage.

Since the days of Gerard, and now in the hands of Jean-Louis, the Chave name has reached new heights as in the past two generations, with a substantial reason being a shift in the style of Hermitage presented by the Chave's. Whilst most tend towards a more heavy and opulent profile, the Chave's opt for a cuvee that is fresher, more compact and leaner - it's essentially richness and depth balanced against elegance and finesse. This has made the reds much more accessible, whilst the whites are renowned for their stellar ageing ability. In exceptionally rare vintages, a particular Cuvee Cathelin is also bottled, and whilst stemming from the same vineyards as the flagship Hermitage rouge, it is composed of different percentages, designed to be more classic. And it is thus 16th-generation Jean-Louis carries on the family's traditions.

Jean-Louis Chave (or JL Chave) being born to a historic wine-making family, had his life's work laid out for him. As has been long credited for the remarkable rise in wine qualities of the Old World, Jean-Louis was part of the first generation of winemakers who would properly study winemaking. He graduated from the prestigious oenology program at University of California at Davis and joined his father Gerard in 1992. Over the past two-plus decades, he's found a way to not only preserve the family's legacy, but has also charted his own course. 

Whilst Jean-Louis has carried on the family's traditions in creating wines from Hermitage, he's found his personal mission in bringing the family's winemaking back to their spiritual home of Saint Joseph. 500 years is a long time and things are most certainly different today, and for Jean-Louis, Saint Joseph is today an exciting spot in the Northern Rhone that can allow for great wines to be produced. As such Jean-Louis has begun the intensive work of revitalising historic terraced vineyards in the appellation. In particular two vineyards stand out as noteworthy. The first is Bachasson, an abandoned hillside vineyard that was where his ancestors had first began producing wines in the 15th century, when they were given rights to the land by a lord in turn for the family's services rendered. The second is the legendary Clos de l'Arbelestrier vineyard (as part of the Clos Florentin, a walled vineyard where no chemical has ever touched the ground in its history) which he had acquired from the family's friend, the Florentin family. 

These vineyards nevertheless require massive clearing, replanting, and rehabilitation, they are incredible projects that Jean-Louis will never complete in his lifetime, and are thus ultimately a gift to the future generations of the Chave family. Where the Hermitage wines are designed to be grand, the Saint Joseph wines are meant to be accessible and ready to drink.

Another notable initiative by Jean-Louis is the creation of a negociant label, the JL Chave Selection, which again calls back to the early roots of the Chave family, who in their beginnings had too ran a negociant business. The wines found in the JL Chave Selection combine fruit from the Chave family's vineyards as well as those sourced from around the Rhone region. These are made to be affordable, much more available, and also easy-drinking.

Yet, despite all that Jean-Louis has done to increase access to the Chave family's wines, their wines still remain very much difficult to get a hold of. As Jean-Louis explains, it was never a tradition in the Rhone to hold on to stock, as it is in Bordeaux. Here in the Rhone, excess stock can only be the result of having great financial resources to afford it, growers who were unable to sell their wine, or a large harvest - none of which tend to occur in Hermitage.

And so with all that said, let's try some of Chave's wines!

Wine Review: Domaine Jean-Louis Chave L'Hermitage Rouge (JL Chave Hermitage Rouge) 2021

A cuvee of Syrah from the Péléat, Beaumes, L'Ermite and Bessards vineyards belonging to Domaine Jean-Louis Chave in Hermitage.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Dark Ruby

Aroma: Intense perfume here, bountiful roses, dark cherries, along with some earthiness of freshly tilled soil. It has a slightly confectionary quality of cherry frosting and tones of vanilla, along with some cherry pie with a scoopful of vanilla ice cream on top. There's also a waft of barnyard of animal hide too. Incredibly perfumed, powerful, rich and heady.

Taste: More restraint here, it's medium-bodied, with an immediate savouriness. It strikes as much more meaty and of charcuterie oils of prosciutto. Dark cherries too, cooked down cherries, cherry preserves, blackberries in there as well. It's plush, rich and feels rounded and fuller, and yet lifted without being heavy. It's not nearly as confectionary or as ripe as the aromas would suggest, with here alittle bit more acidity. It's really cohesive and woven like satin, the tannins whilst firm are rather generous and giving, allowing for a broad body. Some hits of black pepper too.

Finish: That savouriness and meatiness persists, more of that charcuterie meatiness, with even some saltiness too of breakfast ham, along with some cherries and cranberries. It carries on that great richness into a seamless finish. 

My Thoughts

This has a really great presence - on the nose it strikes as being really big, perfumed and opulent, yet on the palate, it's much more clean and restrained, it's overdoing it, and yet it's already struck this captivating first impression. In that sense, it's great at commanding your attention and then showing you just how much elegance and finesse it has. It's like a bait and switch of the best kind.

The aromas are intense and so beguiling, even as you almost begin to simultaneously fear how ripe and decadent it's going to be on the palate - and then, it's not. It's in fact leaner and cleaner, even as it remains entirely concentrated and well-saturated. It's still rounded and plush, with great richness, but it's certainly not over the top. Yet you get the sense that this is all intentional, because it feels so unencumbered and expressive anyway.

I love the complexity as well, with that savoury meatiness that almost feel like it's a food pairing of Thanksgiving meats and fruit sauce packed into the wine. It's so complete in that sense. This all carries beautifully and seamlessly into the finish, with no loss of that richness, here some saltiness comes through as well. Really splendid and impressive expression.

Wine Review: Domaine Jean-Louis Chave L'Hermitage Blanc (JL Chave Hermitage Blanc) 2021

Typically 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne, this comes from an incredibly old vines in the Les Rocoules, Maison Blanche and Péléat vineyards. 

Tasting Notes

Colour: Straw

Aroma: Earthy yet confectionary aromas of cocoa powder, it's almost chocolate-y, and reminiscent of cocoa malted powder. Some soil and straw comes through as well, leading into an autumnal quality of forest floors and browned leaves. Accompanied is then the more classic white fruits in the form of lightly tart gooseberry jams. It's earthy and rich, incredibly firm, bountiful and balanced. Really bold and forward on the aromas, even as it's deeper and richer in tone, and much more broad.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, it's rich and supple, filled in with soft gooseberry jams. Rather clean and mineral as well, with quite abit of acidity that brightens it up, and is much more prominent here. With time some fleshy white fruits of soursops and mangosteens begins to come through.

Finish: It's getting more tropical and musky here. With much more presence of mangosteens, jackfruit, langsats and soursops. It's still bright and tart, yet keeps that richness and plush creaminess too. This all carries through the finish, with just a touch of passionfruit that lingers.

My Thoughts

I found the aromas to be thoroughly impressive as it was so bold and forward, led by this earthy confectionary quality of cocoa powder that I absolutely adored. It was broad as it was balanced, with such great harmony of the various dimensions, vivid and well-saturated. It almost came off stacked and fully packed, with all these great aromas.

The body came across much more subtle and more singular. It was clean and mineral driven, with a greater presence of acidity, albeit tart and not sharp. This gave the expression more brightness, as it tended towards the more classic white fruits, turning increasingly tropical and musky into the finish. The body was nevertheless plush, rich and creamy, again integrating the acidity really well. 

Impeccable aromas, with a much more classic style taste.

Wine Review: Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Saint-Joseph Rouge (JL Chave Saint-Joseph Rouge) 2021

And then we're getting out of Hermitage and going northwards to Saint-Joseph. Again this is a cuvee of various parcels of Syrah from Chave's vineyards within the appellation.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Garnet 

Aroma: Fruit-driven, it immediately gives concentrated and rich dark fruit paste of blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. There's some confectionaries in the form of cherry frosting, dark cherry pie filling, and some rustic barnyard aromas of hay and animal hide. Touch of cocoa powder as well, with then some aromas of forest floors. It's equal part cooked down fruit, barnyard and earth, with just a tidbit of confectionary aromas. Incredibly rich, yet evocative, accessible and great complexity.

Taste: Medium-bodied here. More of those dark cherries and blackberries, although here it's alittle more tart. It's still really rich and seamless, with a nice lift. Berry cordials too, along with an increasingly prominent hit of potpourri of rose petals. It's rich and with a good depth, although less structured and taut.

Finish: More chalkiness here, along with some soil. Bramble, berry cordials, with more earthiness, leading to an overall darker tone. There's also that rustic quality of animal hide that comes through more on the finish. Nevertheless a somewhat short finish.

My Thoughts

This is an easy and accessible wine that delivers great value and punches above its weight in terms of concentration and the vividness of its evocative flavours. It has a perfumed aroma, and features moderate depth on the body. It's pretty complex and has good balance, again without going over the top. That said, it's less structured and deliberate, with also less tension of the body. The flavours are there, and are certainly bountiful, although what might be lacking somewhat is the assembly. That said, for a fraction of the price, this definitely comes in tops.