
Dark purple color, looks and smells like a 10-year-old wine, smoke, black fruits, and some tarry notes I’ve never encountered in Hermitage (?), big, rich, very structured and tannic, super long finish, will it ever mature during my remaining lifetime, staggeringly GREAT Hermitage!! — a month ago
A slight hint of corck or other flaw. May improve with air like the other bottle out of the same cellar we tasted two years ago. Edit: didn't improve much after two hours in the decanter. — 2 months ago
from spirited gourmet- very savory- got pepper and sausage — 3 months ago
Really good. Super Syrah. Balanced with good acidity and fruit. — 2 months ago
2022, figgy, plum with undertones of bacon at first open. very elegant and soft on palate. beautiful. about 4 hrs later- decanted. change? more mineral, tannins are showing more now than at opening. dried fig, meaty. bolder fruit on back end of palate thru the finish. iron on finish. drinking great but more time would certainly be better. — 4 months ago
Deep ruby/purple/burgundy in colour, dense and well built wine, ready to drink. Solid and well balanced. It took a while to open up, better on the 2nd day. — 5 months ago
Dead… was my first impression.
So I put the remaining 2/3 of the bottle in the fridge.
On day two this showed more balance and depth. Dark fruit notes and grilled meat as well. Alas, the brown notes of cola, raisins and dates were still present. Although this must have been a suboptimal bottle, I finished the remainder with pleasure! — 7 days ago
Opened three days earlier. The 2023 pours a deep ruby/purple color with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of ripe brambles, lavender pastilles, bacon fat, black pepper, and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. A delightful pairing with Bison ribeye. Young but showing its potential. Drink now through 2043. — a month ago
Stunning. A total textural bomb, still very young but surprisingly accessible and open, which is the nature of 2020. Complex dark berry fruit, the sweetest, most velvety tannins, and that granitic edge only elite Hermitage gets. Powerful, deep and gorgeous. — 3 months ago
Rich French red blend, served on Viking Danube cruise — 5 months ago
Still strong with bramble fruit herbal characteristics that flow into a long finish. For a 43 year old this is spectacular example of Syrah in the northern Rhône. Complexity without off flavors from aging. — 5 months ago
Jay Kline

At this point, with this group, a Legends dinner simply wouldn’t be appropriate without at least one bottle of Chave Hermitage.
Opened about 90min prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1994 Hermitage pours a slightly hazy garnet with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with perfumed notes of dried brambles, dried blueberry, dried purple flowers, black olive, mushroom, espresso, leather, stony earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and slightly sanguine. Delicious with the 5 Spice Cured Duck prepared with marinated Bing cherries, crispy shallot and Olathe corn polenta. It was such a pleasure to taste the ‘94 Chave next to the ‘85 Gentaz. Two Northern Rhône Legends working with their respective terroirs. Where the Gentaz was all about the aromatics of Côte Rôtie, the Chave was brought more of the power from the Hill of Hermitage. Drink now through 2056. — a month ago