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2017 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (5/1/2020)
#4289. This is massive. It doesn’t quite have the potency of 2015 or the elegance of 2016 (the last two iterations I tasted right at commercial release), but there is plenty of fantastic material here. The fruit is borderline purple, but it’s not over the top in any way. A smidgen of vanilla that is mostly a product of youth and will almost certainly integrate away. Most distinctive is the already prevalent blood and meat flavours here. Acidity that is heightened and prominent, but serves to give this wine lift. A fair bit of tannin as expected, too. On the whole this is a bit of a step down from the 2015/6 in terms of vintage, but it’s really not like I’m ever turning a glass of this away, and by no means is that a statement indicating you should skip this in favour of the last two vintages. Chave Hermitage is truly the king of the hill, year in year out. (93 pts.)
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That’s what I call taking one for the team.
At this point, it’s a bit of an annual ritual…
Love your comparison on vintages. I’m not bold enough to drink any this young, so I’m glad you are, truly, taking one for the team. Do you find that those characteristics of the vintages are consistent with other top producers in Northern Rhone?
Yes, I think the Chave Hermitage tends to capture the spirit of the vintage very much (though I haven’t tasted many other 2017 N Rhones at this point). In fact, going back to 1989 the only years where I think Chave didn’t really typify the vintage were 2002 (where they excelled like no other) and 1996 (which was a bit of a miss and just kind of weird) but as a disclaimer there’s a few vintages I haven’t tasted in that range. Most every bottle has tended to be consistent with my overall impression of the vintage. It’s strange because first and foremost, Chave tastes like Chave (I’ve called the Hermitage double blind twice).
Yikes, def not popping my one bottle this early although maybe I should stock up a little.
Brutal to stock up at current retail price
I rarely get a crack at this kinda stuff north of the border, but have a rare opportunity to grab this vintage at 250usd + tax a bottle, worth it?
Cheers!
Chave Hermitage is now officially cheaper than Allemand Reynard, as of the 2017 vintage. Probably the same rice as Allemand Chaillot. Note that 2015 and 2016 Chave market price is not a reflection of the more normal MSRP (they were sort of at release, before getting the 100 pts).
I cracked one a few months back and my notes reflect yours though I was a few points higher. IMO, Chave makes the top No. Rhone year in and year out hands down.
Yeah, I’m inclined to agree. Sometimes Allemand edges it out, but that’s maybe more of a stylistic preference. Hard to think of a vintage where I wouldn’t put the Chave Hermitage among the top handful of wines.
Yes, that is a fairly competitive price, even in the US (if it’s at the LCBO, I’d be even more impressed). I think in the ranking of Chave Hermitages, 2017 will fall somewhere in the middle of the pack. But keep in mind that in the last 20 years, I’d say the only real dog is the 2002, and even that is a very good wine.
I somewhat disagree, had it in October and it was extremely elegant and balanced, lively and complex, without any heaviness (which 2015 slightly showed), definitely worth 95/96 points … could turn out like a more intense 1991 which is so fantastic now.
Not sure which province you’re in, but Chave is available in most provinces for $C300-$325 (better than $us250 +tax) over the past few vintages.
If in Ontario, I’d skip the LCBO’s tiny allocation from Halpern and go direct to them. You pay a bit more than the HST inclusive price the LCBO will charge, but at least you get some. I know the SAQ gets it or try Trialto as they rep Chave in other provinces. Of course, if you travel south a lot, then the US may be viable if you use storage that will ship to a hotel.
I can’t quite remember what I paid, but I think it was about $C260 in late 2019 for the 2014 Chave. It’s interesting to see these notes because I don’t have more than 2 bottles in any vintage. Fingers crossed, I hope I like it when I finally pull the cork on a bottle.
I’m in BC, C$322 is the ask, first time I’ve seen it available here, but I’ve only been collecting for like 4 years.
I’m a newbie to Hermitage or Rhone wines in general. I picked up a couple cases of the 2015 and 2016 Chaves after seeing Somm into the bottle. I have yet to taste a Northern Rhone wine, but coming from Andremily, sqn and alban I was told that i’m probably not going to like these. My cellar heavily leans towards big cali cabs but I do have an appreciation for good bdx so I’m not a total stranger to french wines, so I think i’ll probably like these too. I was told to give them about 10 years though…
I tasted a 2015 seven months ago. It was pretty amazing, so if you have not tasted a Chave Hermitage yet, then i think its fine to pop one bottle to get a sense of the wine. Then save the rest. We had a 1999 lined up on the same night that was faulty:(
When you´re a newbie to Northern Rhones it is quite brave to buy and open a top 300+ bucks bottle, just to see if you like it.
Chave Hermitage needs 15-20 years in a fine vintage, sometimes even more … although the 2017 last fall was open and excellent to drink, but I suppose it will close up to a certain degree (when?)…
Chave 2004, 2001, 2000 are very nice now, but I still would give them enough air, open some h in advance and then giv it a decant.
But why not look for an easier, less expensive and more accessable wine like a Crozes-Hermitage, St.Joseph or Cote-Rotie?
Assuming some of those bottles were Chave’s St Joseph, open one and try it. No matter what style you’re used to, I think almost anyone would like and appreciate Chave. It is not a difficult wine to love.