Domaine Jean Louis Chave Hermitage 2022 750ML

A tasting of the different lieux-dits showed how the different soil types reacted to the drought. Granite-based parcels (Ermite, Les Bessards) suffered blockages in ripening and finished at 13% alcohol; the clay-based terroirs (Le Méal, Les Beaumes) didn't stop ripening and finished at 15%. The overall blend will be powerful but fragrant, complex and stylistically sits within other recent dry and hot vintages, and isn't outside the current norm (it's nothing like the similarly extreme 2003). Picking started at the end of August. (MW)

I tasted various separately vinified lieux-dits that will eventually curate the 2022 L'Hermitage. Both the L'Ermite and Les Bessards, the cuvée’s backbone, show terrific structure, finesse and complexity. I am totally taken by the sheer beauty of the Les Beaumes with its striking inner energy and the mesmerizing floral lift of the Péléat. Cropped at an overall 30 hL/ha, the ripeness of the vintage is skillfully balanced by lifting freshness throughout all components. I can’t wait to taste the final result.

The 2022 Hermitage from Jean-Louis Chave is broad and deep, bursting with aromas of smoke, licorice and dark wild berries mingled with delicate notes of fresh thyme and spices. Full-bodied, dense and powerful, layered and concentrated, it has a fleshy palate with a broad attack, racy mid-palate, velvety tannins and a mordant, somewhat firm finish. Remarkably, despite the sunny, dry conditions of the vintage, the wine does not exhibit an overtly warm character. This Hermitage stands out at this address as a particularly unique expression, rewarding those who are patient.