2007 St Joseph

The 2007 St.-Joseph exhibits gorgeous raspberry fruit intermixed with spring flowers. Medium-bodied and complex, it could easily be mistaken for a top-notch red Burgundy. (Not yet released) One of my favorite true and authentic vignerons to visit is the Chave family, located in the tiny, one-horse village of Mauves, just south of Tournon. The son, Jean-Louis, is taking over the reins more and more, but his father, Gerard, is still involved even though he is officially retired. As always, these wines performed brilliantly. Readers should keep in mind that the reviews of the 2007 white Hermitage and 2007 red Hermitage are a matter of extrapolating from tasting all the separate vineyards that go into these wines. That said, the Chaves appear to be ratcheting up their quality level because of a Draconian selection process in the vineyard as well as in the winery. The Chave estate wines’ finest value is St.-Joseph (5,000 bottles produced in each vintage), which comes from hillside vines planted in pure schist just outside their home village of Mauves. Importer: Langdon-Shiverick, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 483-5900

From Dardouille: Spicy red and dark berry aromas and a kick of black pepper on the nose and palate, with licorice and cherry notes gaining strength with air. From Bachasson: Explosively perfumed, sexy bouquet of potpourri, black fruits and minerals. Sweet cassis and black raspberry flavors are deep and lively at once and the tannins are completely absorbed. There's lots of decomposed iron in this vineyard, according to Chave. From Les Oliviers: Black olive, licorice and cherry on the nose; the most brooding of these casks by far. Very rich, with weighty dark berry compote flavors and a solid tannic framework. The ultimate wine will be outstanding.

The 2007 St.-Joseph exhibits gorgeous raspberry fruit intermixed with spring flowers. Medium-bodied and complex, it could easily be mistaken for a top-notch red Burgundy.||(Not yet released)||One of my favorite true and authentic vignerons to visit is the Chave family, located in the tiny, one-horse village of Mauves, just south of Tournon. The son, Jean-Louis, is taking over the reins more and more, but his father, Gerard, is still involved even though he is officially retired. As always, these wines performed brilliantly. Readers should keep in mind that the reviews of the 2007 white Hermitage and 2007 red Hermitage are a matter of extrapolating from tasting all the separate vineyards that go into these wines. That said, the Chaves appear to be ratcheting up their quality level because of a Draconian selection process in the vineyard as well as in the winery. The Chave estate wines’ finest value is St.-Joseph (5,000 bottles produced in each vintage), which comes from hillside vines planted in pure schist just outside their home village of Mauves. Wine Advocate.April, 2009