Dark Fruit, Pepper, Smooth
France / Red / Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre / Organic
|
Farming |
Organic |
|
Producer |
J.L Chave |
|
Grape |
Syrah/Grenache/Mouvedre |
|
Wine Type |
Red |
|
Country |
France |
|
Region |
Cotes Du Rhone AOC, France |
|
Vintage |
2021 |
|
Alcohol |
14.5% |
|
Size |
75cl |
Small parcels of de-stemmed grapes grown under contract, which hail principally from declassified 'Villages' plots in the Southern Rhône, are harvested at optimum maturity and then vinified in thermo-regulated, stainless steel vats after pressing. The wine is then racked in used 228 litre barrels for up to 12 months before fining, filtration and bottling.
Notes on the Producer
The Chave family have been winemakers for over 500 years and are synonymous with the Northern Rhone and in particular Hermitage. Many would consider their domaine 'Hermitage' to be the pinnacle of what can be produced with the Syrah grape.
JL Chave Sélection was born when Jean-Louis discovered that some of his Hermitage ‘off-cuts’ – those that didn’t make the final exact Domaine blend and were sold-off in bulk – weren’t being blended as instructed but were being bottled individually and sold by négociants as some sort of ‘Deuxieme Chave’ label. It was highly irritating to JL that others would profit from both the Chave name and vineyard work so, with his wife Erin, he created a separate entity. This allows him the option to buy in parcels of fruit – when and where they think the quality is outstanding – but, more significantly, to make use of young vines and barrels of excess finished wine which JL doesn’t think ‘fit’ into the regal domaine wines.
