Yann Chave Hermitage 2019 – 750ml XXI

96pts Decanter

Glass-staining purple color. Incredibly powerful with searching perfume, leaf tea and glove leather behind the intense black fruits. Very fine and deep, perhaps just a touch too high in alcohol, a little over extracted. Phenomenal concentration and length however. A growling, brooding power, this could only be Hermitage. From vines of nearly 50 years of age grown organically on lieux-dits Beaumes and Péléat, matured in demi-muids with malolactic fermentation in barrel.

96pts Vinous

A complex bouquet evokes ripe blackberry, cherry compote, licorice and violet, energized by a spicy cracked pepper nuance. Broad and fleshy in the mouth, offering densely packed, smoke-tinged black/blue fruit, exotic spice and floral pastille flavors that pick up a minerally nuance as the wine opens up. Shows superb delineation and spicy lift on a long, silky finish framed by steadily building tannins. There were five demi-muids of this wine in 2019, all of them new.

95pts Jeb Dunnuck

I continue to rave about the wines of Yann Chave, and readers should snatch up these wines before the market catches up to the quality. Dense purple, with a great nose of chocolaty blackberries, bloody meat, iron, scorched earth, and pepper, the beautiful 2019 Hermitage hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a dense, layered mid-palate, and enough tannins to warrant at least 5-7 years of bottle age. It pushes on the ripeness scale and is one monster of a Hermitage that’s going to have 20-30 years of longevity.
Rating: 95+

95pts James Suckling

There is so much power and concentration in this Hermitage. Intense aromas of spiced cherries, thyme, earth, smoke, peppercorns, roasted meat, cloves and tobacco leaves. It’s full-bodied with fine, firm tannins. It’s solid and well-built with structure. It has a punchy character throughout with tannins framing and containing the intensity which develops through the long, funnelled and compact finish.

91pts Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

A fairly concentrated and rich bottling, Yann Chave’s 2019 Crozes Hermitage offers up scents of espresso, blackberries and black olives. It’s medium to full-bodied, tannic but ripe, with hints of licorice and plum on the long finish. This could be really good in another year or two.

Winemaker Notes

Bright color, purple with a violet hue. Discreet nose requiring aeration. Aromas develop with finesse and much complexity; blackberry jam, licorice sticks, a hint of roasting and spice. Full and generous on the palate. Mid-palate reveals rich aromas of ripe fruit and a hint of smokiness. Tannins are dense and intense, but with great finesse, giving the wine imposing structure and a long finish. A truly superb wine.

About the Winery

Yann took over from his father, Bernard Chave, and in 2001 the name of the Domaine became Yann Chave. It consists of 16,77 Ha of Crozes Rouge, 1,20 Ha of Hermitage, 1,50 Ha of Crozes Blanc. The Rouvre is a single parcel in Chassis, his best parcel of Crozes, very “caillouteux” (large rounded stones) and the vines average 60 years-old. It is pure “vin de goutte” and is aged entirely in 1-2 year old demi-muids. The Hermitage is from two parcels, one in Baumes (next to Le Méal) and the other in Péléat: average age is 30 years. The wine is aged in 600L demi-muids, a size well-suited for Syrah and does not over oak the wine. Yann harvests late, for maximum phenolic ripeness. He has very little Hermitage, but makes one of the best-value Crozes-Hermitage available.

Food Pairing : Pair with roast duck breast fillet, creamy polenta, grilled mezenc rib steak with truffled mashed potatoes, Creamy Brillât Savarin or Chaource cheese.