J.L. Chave

Much of the fame of the domaine was built on the efforts of Jean-Louis’ father Gerard’s work from the 1950s to the 1990s. Jean-Louis worked alongside Gerard for many of these years, eventually taking over in 1992. Gerard is still present but the domaine is fully guided by Jean-Louis these days, and the rise in quality, consistency, and long-term investment is staggering.

Not only has the domaine’s Hermitage been firmly planted as the benchmark for the appellation, it is also arguably the best wine coming out of the Rhone Valley, regularly included in the top wines on the world. Their top wine, Cuvee Cathelin, was the brainchild of Jean Louis and Gerard. It is only produced in years where the Hermitage is able to stand on its own without certain old vine parcels, and has become stratospheric in its collectability and demand. Jean-Louis’ work hasn’t stopped at Hermitage either, one of the first things he did when joining the domaine full time in the early 1990s was to reclaim the family vineyards in Saint Joseph that had been abandoned during Phylloxera in the late 1800s.

Over the last 30 years, Jean-Louis has painstakingly reclaimed these vineyards, inch by inch, building extensive terracing on pure granite, helping to return Saint Joseph to the level of respect it deserves. In addition to the estate wines, Jean-Louis also started a negociant business, which produces reds and whites from Crozes Hermitage, Hermitage, Saint Joseph, and a fantastic Cotes du Rhone under the “Mon Coeur” label. Winemaking across all the wines is remarkably similar, with a focus on starting with low yields and excellent vineyard sites. Jean-Louis never steers away from ripeness, but because of the quality of the vineyards the wines always retain a freshness and bright acidity, even in the warmest of years. The wines are fermented in a combination of stainless steel and larger neutral barrels, with new oak used minimally.

The top wines have an extremely long elevage before spending a few months in stainless steel to ensure a resulting wine that is as consistent as possible. The result of Jean-Louis’ hard work and attention has been wines that are truly compelling, at all price ranges. Despite their rise in price over the years, they still represent one of the most underrated wines on the market when compared t other world class wines. The wines have a soul and sense of place that is rarely found outside of Burgundy today and belong in any serious collector’s cellar.