From Oslo to London to Lyon back to London…it was a tough couple days of travel. However, it was made easier by my first-ever trip to the Rhône Valley. I had only one destination, the Domaine of Jean-Louis Chave, and it would end up being a memory of a lifetime.
When we landed that morning, it seemed we brought the frigid weather of Oslo with us to France—about as cold as it ever gets there, per Jean-Louis. We were welcomed inside and Jean-Louis made a plan. His father Gerard was still around and about (and quick as a whip, I might add). We bid him adieu and hopped in Jean-Louis’ truck for a tour of the famous hill of Hermitage.
We sat at the foot of the hill and looked up, where the giant signs of Jaboulet and Chapoutier stand out. Each producer now makes millions of bottles a year—not of Hermitage, of course, but their significance and contribution to the appellation and the entire region cannot be ignored. I asked Jean-Louis why he didn’t have a Chave sign on the hill, but that is not his style: he just lives on it. After that, I just listened.
The terroir of Hermitage—much like the terroir of Burgundy—makes it unique. Chave gets fruit from seven different vineyards, and within those vineyards, he gets both white and red grapes, depending on the soil. The diversity and differences of soils on the hill of Hermitage are one of the great characteristics of the vineyard. The south-facing slopes—some very steep—are another: without them, there’s no Hermitage. The S-shape that the Rhône river takes here created this unique hillside vineyard.
Hill of Hermitage is a sight to behold.
We started driving in the vineyards. We came awfully close to some steep declines with an awful amount of big bumps in the road next to them. “Don’t worry,” I told myself, “Jean-Louis drives these paths every day, you aren’t going to fall and roll over and wipe out 5% of the production of Hermitage in the process … don’t worry.”
The key to the hill is the complex range of different soils, from granite and clay to pebbles and dusty earth. Sometimes you could see the earth change colors in the middle of a vineyard, like L’Ermite, and that could mark where red grapes stopped and whites started. All these soils with their different personalities lend themselves to unique expressions in the grapes. Chapoutier and others have promoted the concept of single vineyards like Le Meal and L’Ermite; however, for Chave, the true nature of Hermitage results from a carefully constructed blend from all parts of the hill. This was evident when we tasted the 2016, where each vineyard was aging separately in the barrel.
For the whites, we first tasted from the Les Rocules vineyard, where the oldest vines for the whites reside. Jean-Louis told us that the vines were so old, he couldn’t even tell which ones were Marsanne and which were Roussanne, but he estimated that his blanc is about 80% Marsanne. Les Rocules was delicious, deserving of a bottling on its own—so decadent, so rich, so plump and succulent with its sweet fruit, with lots of old-vine character. When we tasted L’Ermite, the vineyard in back of his home way up high on the hill, the contrast was amazing. This was a dry and spiny white, with lots of backside and a meaner personality compared to the seductive, “life of the party” that was Les Rocules. The yin and the yang were immediately obvious. The vineyards show a bit of each other’s character, in a fill-in-the-blanks kind of way.
After the barrel tasting, Jean-Louis popped a few bottles of white, beginning with the 2015 Chave Hermitage Blanc, which had been bottled about four months ago. What a delicious wine! 2015 was a hotter vintage, and the sweetness of the fruit came through immediately: loads of yellow fruits and sunshine, with exotic pineapple and mango aromas, and a delectable spice behind it. It was rich, balanced and still elegant. Jean-Louis told us there is a post-bottling window in which the wines are just delightful before they close up and go into hibernation. Everyone knows the age-worthiness of his blancs; sometimes they can be downright screechy in their intensity. This 2015, however, was ready, willing and able. (95+)
Next up was a 2009 Chave Hermitage Blanc. This was an immediate left turn from the 2015, showing off a gamy and waxy personality, full of anise and wild flavors. It was almost a bit peculiar compared to the seductive 2015. Its texture was intense, and with a little air, it started to settle down in the stable, so to speak. It still had this pungent character, but less with time. There were a lot more minerals and stones on the finish of this gamy 2009. (93)
There was one more white to be had, and what a white it was: the 1982 Chave Hermitage Blanc. I was in awe of this spectacular white. Its yellow hues were not only in fruit but also in straw and wax. There was a dust of the earth in its nose that balanced perfectly with its fruit. It was still fresh despite being 36 years old: This was a white wine still on the rise! Its richness permeated my mouth, and its minerals made me smack my lips. This was a golden goose of a wine, sparkling in its nose with musk and fruit, and shining even more on the palate with its delicious flavors and balance. Bravo! (97)
For those who think of only red when they think of Rhône, Jean-Louis will convince you to come over to the white side.
If you happen to be travelling through Portugal between early spring and late summer then book a trip on the Douro Line. During this time the almond trees blossom and the terraced grape vines burst with fruit ready for pressing.
Beginning in 2010, the Maharajas Express was a recreation of the luxurious carriages of days gone by. The Maharajas Express began by taking only 88 passengers from Delhi to Mumbai on a train journey that lasted 3-7 nights.
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