Jean-Louis Chave in his cellars at Mauves

At the tail end of February, Tom and I were privileged to take up an invitation to visit the Chave family at their H.Q. in the village of Mauves to taste barrel samples of forthcoming vintages and catch up with developments at this historic estate that has an unbroken father to son lineage dating back to 1481. Jean-Louis Chave greeted us in person and we clambered into his authentically vineyard-distressed  quatre-quatre for a tour of the family’s latest acquisition – the 4 hectare walled ‘Clos Florentin’ Saint Joseph vineyard which lies at the southern end of the village. Jean-Louis explained that he’d had his eye on this parcel of vines for several reasons. The key attractions are the location and the soil. Although the vineyard lies on flat land below Saint Joseph’s steepest slopes, it has a soil of decomposed granite washed downhill over millennia. The vineyard also lies in a sun trap being set beneath a gap between two overlooking escarpments. The former patron Dr. Émile Floretin was a Paris-based homeopath who eschewed the deployment of chemical pesticides and fertilizers so the mature rootstock has grown naturally and is untainted by interventionist farming practices. Further inducements were that the Chaves’ own the painstakingly re-planted vineyard immediately above Clos Florentin and the extreme proximity to their own base. As Jean-Louis pointed out it is much closer to their winery than Hermitage.

Jean-Louis relishes a challenge and he’s clearly on a mission to produce the best wine he possibly can in Saint Joseph and restore some of this much maligned appellation’s prestige. We can’t wait to taste the fruits of his labour.  

Back at base we were issued with tasting glasses and were escorted into the murkiness of the Chaves’ extensive subterranean cellars. Here we were treated to an extensive barrel tasting commencing with parcels of white Hermitage 2008, moving on to red Saint Joseph 2008 and then red Hermitage 2008 before repeating the exercise with the nascent and keenly anticipated 2009s. Time and space preclude going into details of individual climats here but we were hugely impressed by the 2008s in cask. Jean-Louis confirmed that 2008 had been a really tough vintage in the vineyard with heavy rains, at the time of blossoming, severely reducing yields. Fortunately, three weeks of sunshine prior to harvesting in September helped ripen grapes to full maturity. Jean-Louis told us that once in the cellars the 2008s have given him little cause for concern – volumes are low but they have great purity of fruit and delineation. 2009 was evidently an easier and more prolific vintage. The cask wines are still quite closed and tannic but there is a wealth of background fruit and a fine acidity that augurs well for ‘Grands Vins’ of great concentration and longevity. There might even be the possibility of a bottling of the rare Ermitage ‘Cuvée Cathelin’ which has only been produced 5 times since the inaugural 1990 vintage.

With broad smiles and blackened teeth we emerged blinking into the daylight to be greeted by Jean-Louis’ charming American wife, Erin, and their lively 3 year-old son Louis, who might not appreciate it yet but has got a lot of responsibility riding on his young shoulders.

Maxime and Alain Graillot

On Day 3, we were up and at ‘em with a climat by climat barrel-tasting of the 2007 Hermitage at the Rhône valley’s most prestigious address – Domaine Jean-Louis Chave in the village of Mauves. The Chaves farm just under 14 of Hermitages precious 131 hectares and have an unbroken ‘de père en fils’ lineage stretching back to 1481. They have vines in 9 different sites on the hill of Hermitage so this was quite a protracted tasting. Here Jean-Louis Chave patiently explained the different attributes of fruit from different parcels of vines in what amounted to a masterclass in the concept of terroir or the impact of location on taste. Jean-Louis told us that 2007 is ‘Un bon millésime’ for his Hermitage – not a blockbuster but a vintage of flesh and fruit ‘a bit like 1997 or 2000’ that should drink well soon after bottling – we wouldn’t disagree.

Our final tasting of the trip was with Alain Graillot and his son Maxime at Les Chênes Verts on Le Chassis plateau of Crozes Hermitage. The Graillots 2007’s are bursting with black fruit flavours and one could happily drink them right off the bat. Despite the current economic gloom Graillot ‘Père et Fils’ are upbeat about business explaining that demand for their relatively inexpensive, early-drinking Syrahs is strong at the moment as people are looking for value on restaurant wine lists and aren’t buying grander bottles. This has always been a modern, forward-thinking operation and there is much evidence of innovation and re-investment. A substantial new cellar and wine store are being excavated to increase capacity for Maxime’s new négociant projects in Saint Joseph and Cornas. Also Alain’s superb, mineral-edged white Crozes’ has been bottled under screw-cap for the first time in the 2008 vintage which should show its clean apricot fruit to full advantage.

After our tasting and tour we headed back into Tain’ for a wonderful al fresco lunch of modern Mediterranean cuisine on the terrace of Le Quai restaurant where we enjoyed a bottle of Jean-Louis Thiers’ 2007 Saint Péray Nature and Alain’s own 2007 red Saint Joseph – which is supple and sapid and ideal for outdoor drinking.

After lunch we piled back into our rented ride and headed south for Avignon. There we checked into the basic but central Hotel Garlande and strolled around the town for an obligatory look at what’s left of the Pont.

Our mission completed with myriad tasting notes, a raft of photographs and a few very fine meals under our belts it was a pleasure to sit in the sunshine in the Place de l’Horloge and sip a glass of Domaine Maby’s delightful 2007 Tavel rosé which La Civette Brasserie bangs out at a not unreasonable 19 euros a bottle. It’s a tough job – but someone’s got to do it!

At the beginning of  March I had the pleasure of hosting an evening dedicated to the wines of Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, an estate widely acknowledged as being at forefront of the Rhône valley’s wine making elite. I was at Le Café Anglais on the invitation of the chef-patron, Rowley Leigh, who is passionate about wine (and food) and had devised a sumptuous menu to accompany the wines. The evening presented a (very) rare opportunity to sample examples of the entire cannon of the Domaine’s wines including the horribly expensive ‘Cuvée Cathelin’ and fiendishly scarce ‘Vin de Paille’. Nineteen of us gathered in the private dining room (this representing just about the maximum who can comfortably taste from a single bottle) including restaurateurs, wine journalists, business folk and common or garden wine nuts.

This was to be a tasting of two halves. The first being an ‘academic’ overview of this legendary estate (de Père en Fils Depuis 1481, as proudly displayed on the neck label) featuring the white Hermitage 2005, the red Hermitage 2001, the Ermitage ‘Cuvée Cathelin’ 1998 and the sweet Vin de Paille 1990. The second phase was a more ‘hedonistic’ tasting (and let’s face it, drinking) of the Chaves wines with specially selected dishes.

Phase one passed off well. The white 2005 showed youthful promise with hints of honeysuckle on the nose and a concentrated palate of white stone fruit with hints of roasted nuts. The red 2001 is still an infant but I could happily drink it now. It has a wonderful core of dark, black, berry-fruit and attractive peppery notes. The Cuvée Cathelin is so far beyond the realms of my regular drinking that I find it hard to be objective about it. There is lots of power and concentration here and it tastes like a Vin Luxe. The Chaves insist that this isn’t a ‘special’ cuvée. That said, they’ve only ever made it in 6 vintages (1990, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2000 & 2003) and collectors certainly regard it as a trophy wine. It was first created to provide a vehicle for a distinctive red label that the late artist and Chave family friend, Bernard Cathelin, designed. I think it is an impressive wine and a fabulous expression of the Syrah grape but I just feel like it hasn’t been made for the likes of me. Perhaps it is the wine equivalent of a studio album made by a great live band. I can appreciate its quality, I just can’t relate to it in the same way that I can with the Chaves’ ‘regular’ Hermitage. Maybe in time I’ll acquire more of a taste for it – although who will fund that project remains a mystery.

In common with many great wines the Vin de Paille is understated. On first taste you wonder what all the fuss is about but every time you revisit it, it reveals another facet. It tasted more impressive two hours after opening than when we first broached it. I lack the descriptive powers to do this justice but Keats’s ‘lucent syrups tinct with cinnamon’ spring to mind.

With that hard work out of the way we then tucked into a memorably delicious meal. Scallops with sea kale were accompanied by a mineral-edged white Hermitage 1995 which proved a delightfully happy union. A gently-spiced hare pâté ‘en croute’ was served warm with the only non-Hermitage of the feast, the Chaves’ red Saint Joseph 2006. The cool, youthful, peppery wine was the perfect foil for the gamey meat – a sublime food and wine combination. I am certain that the ‘Lamb en Persillade’ that followed with a red Hermitage 1999 (that was just beginning to reveal its potential) was a grander dish but I had been so beguiled by the previous course I had yet to regain my critical faculties.

To round things off we tasted two mature vintages of red Hermitage with some perfectly à point Saint Marcellin. The 1985 was good but the 1988 was great. This was my wine of the night with evolved fruit and tannins that had softened nicely with age and I fancy some ‘beaded bubbles winking at the brim’  but by then I had drunk plenty and had fully succumbed to the charms of the hill of Hermitage!