Jean Louis Chave has really shown what Hermitage and Syrah are all about here. The intense dark purple appearance starts the wine off. The super clean nose has huge intensity with black currants, sweet clove, vanilla and the classic charcouterie and garrigue. The palate is balanced with silky tannin and a rich mouthfeel with good acidity. The palate replays the deli meats and vanilla from the nose with some added red berry fruit and a long finish. Should cellar well for 8-15 years for a little added complexity but is delightful now as well.

This was my first Chave hermitage, and I should state that I don't think the wine will peak for 6-8 years. What's amazing about the wine is what ST often calls "inner mouth energy" -- it's the sense of intensity/energy without viscosity/concentration. This is one of those wines that, while true to place, strikes me more as a palette for the winemaker than a terroir wine, perhaps because Chave is blending from a number of sites. At the moment, the wine is showing a bright red-fruit character, sappiness, minerality, only a hint of the pepper/smoke/gunflint character that will come later. But remarkably drinkable with a 2 hr decant, so don't be afraid. This is a really juicy wine that is all about the Chave style -- the man is brilliant.