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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 Rhone Valley. I had only one destination, the Domaine of Jean-Louis Chave, and it would end up being a memory of a lifetime.

It’s funny, as I always thought Cote-Rotie and Hermitage were neighbors. It couldn’t be further from the truth; well, it is about one hour further. After being taken on a tour by Jean-Louis of the hill of Hermitage, I can safely say that for the first time in my life, I understand Hermitage. Knowledge does come from the vineyards, and come from being there, I will be the first to admit, and none more so than Hermitage.

We first sat the the foot of the hill, looking from the ground up. The giant signs of Jaboulet and Chapoutier are the first things that 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. Jean-Louis was the first one to say it very respectfully. I asked Jean-Louis why he didn’t have a Chave sign up on the hill, but that is not his style. He just lives on it LOL. After that, I just listened.

When we started driving in the vineyards, let’s just say there weren’t always paved roads. 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. Well, I didn’t die, but I did come away with a true understanding of the magical place called Hermitage.

For the whites, we first tasted from ‘Les Rocules,’ which is where the oldest vines for the whites reside. Chave 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. The 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 Rocules was. The yin and the yang were immediately obvious. The last vineyard from where he gets white grapes I forget the name exactly, but that showed a bit of each of the other vineyards’ character, but in a more reserved, fill in the blanks kind of way.

After the barrel tasting, Chave 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. I questioned its immediate approachability, and Chave told us that there is this window after bottling where the wines are just delightful, before they start to close up and go into hibernation. Everyone knows the age worthiness of his Blancs; sometimes they can be downright screechy in their intensity. However, this 2015 was ready, willing and able. I think I might be popping a few more corks of his Blancs earlier and immediately upon release based on this 2015 (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; of course, the French Paradox as loving it. 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).

We moved on to the reds, with a quick journey to Saint Joseph. If you have a chance to buy any of Chave’s Saint Josephs, do yourself a favor and do it. The wines of Saint Joseph are not expensive, but they are very good, excellent drinking wines that are affordable. The work Chave is doing in St. Joseph is no small task, either. He calls it ‘a generation of work,’ meaning it is one of his life’s significant projects to find great terroirs, replant the vineyards and make a true ‘Domaine’ wine, as opposed to the Negociant bottlings he releases now. We tasted one of these more special terroirs, and I could see the difference in intensity and quality. He feels he is getting close to releasing a Domaine wine from St. Joseph, but that he is not there yet. Keep your eye on Chave in St. Joseph!

I started talking about the 2003 that we had in November in New York at the Reboule du Rhone, and how despite the huge rating it had, that I just didn’t get it. It was too sweet, not as complicated as usual etc. He immediately went to get a 2003 Chave Hermitage Rouge. Fuck! I just had it damnit LOL. Of all the vintages I could have tried, that was probably the last one I would have asked for, but when in Rhone…while I did like the bottle fresh from the cellar a touch more than the one I had in November (when would a bottle from his cellar not be better?), I still found it a touch Zinfandel-like with its sweet, jammy fruit, and it lacked the acidity that his wines normally possess. It was very good but not a truly great wine, and certainly not 100 points, even though I only give 99+ myself : ) There are just so many other vintages of his wine that I would prefer to drink, personally (91).

However, mentioning the 2003 would be quite fortuitous, as out came a 2003 Chave Ermitage Cuvee Cathelin. I forgot to ask him why he drops the ‘H’ on the Cathelin, oops! I wanted to find out, now I have to go back again soon! The ’03 Cathelin was amazing and literally one of the most concentrated wines that I have ever tasted. Somehow it didn’t feel heavy or cloying despite me wanting to test if I could stand a spoon in it. Chunky, chocolaty and oily, the 2003 was rich like a billionaire and while it had excellent sweetness to its fruit, it was in no way too sweet for me like the ‘regular’ blend. Sebastien and I were both stunned; this was a 100 year wine, for sure. Its palate was as black as night, and the party was definitely in my mouth with each sip. Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re coming, too, lol. I vacillated between 98+ and 99 points, only worried that it would never mature enough for me to see secondary development over the next forty years. I hope to find out. This was a freak of nature that was 100% natural (98+).

It was now that I learned for the first time what Cuvee Cathelin was all about. I assumed that it was always some barrel selection, some super juice bottled on its own in exceptional vintages. I think he has made Cathelin in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2010. Did he make a 2005 or 2009? Tell me if I am missing any! Back to my point, however, the Cathelin is not just some barrel selection; it is a wine made when Chave feels that the vintage has something more to say. It is a different wine, a different expression, a sibling rather than a best selection, and a wine only made when he feels making it will not take away from the normal blend. He said the 2003 Cathelin would get lost in the 2003 regular Hermitage and not add more to it, but it had so much to say on its own. I understood his point right away. Chave’s Cuvee Cathelins are the true work of a genius/artist, one who has given his heart and soul to the hill of Hermitage.

It was unfortunately time to go, as we had dinner in five hours in London. I couldn’t feel my feet for half the day thanks to the freezing weather, but the wines of Jean-Louis Chave warmed my soul as much as any other. The day I spent with him is one I will never forget; it was a master class in Hermitage given by the Master himself. I can’t believe it took me this long to visit, but I know it won’t take me that long to come back.