1990 Ermitage Cuvee Cathelin

When I arrived at 6:00 p.m., September 11, 2001, at Domaine Chave, I found Chave in tears and his family distraught. I had heard about the attacks on the World Trade Center, but not the subsequent collapse of both towers. Gerard Chave knows all about suicidal bombers, having served in the French military during the Algerian revolution. It took a long time to gather sufficient focus to do my tastings. However, the brilliant wines that unfolded in the cellars were, at least for several hours, a much needed antidote for pushing to the back of my mind the horror of 9-11-01. Importers: Langdon Shiverick, Cleveland OH; tel. (216) 861-6800 and Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

While I have reviewed the outstanding 1990 Hermitage, which I have rated in the high nineties on every occasion I have had it, I have never reviewed the 1990 Hermitage Cuvee Special. The Cuvee Special is more influenced by new oak than the classic cuvee, but the oak takes a back seat to the wine's superb raw materials. The wine exhibits fabulous concentration, richness, intensity, and length, as well as a mind-boggling finish. I cannot say it is superior to the classic cuvee. The Cuvee Special possesses more of an international new oak signature. The 1990 Cuvee Special should not be drunk for 10-15 years; it has the potential to last for 30-50 years! Only tiny allotments of the 1990 and 1991 Cuvee Speciales were allocated to the American market as Chave has a loyal European clientele that have made his wines among the rarest and hardest to find. Importers: Langdon-Shiverick, Chagrin Falls, OH; Tel. (216) 247-6868 and Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; Tel. (510) 524-1524

Saturated deep ruby-red. Aromas of sweet blackcurrant, black raspberry, minerals and smoked meat; superripe but almost magically fresh. The thickest, sweetest and longest of any of these wines, but developing extremely slowly. Dark berry and mineral flavors coat those hard-to-reach areas of the palate. Great persistence. The Chaves have always played down the influence of new barrels in their Hermitage, but I get a distinct finishing flavor of smoky oak that merely adds to the wine complexity.