J.L. Chave Sélection Hermitage Blanche Marsanne Roussanne

2017 enjoyed 10/7/2023. nose: caramelized pineapple, wavering between oxidative and candied. wiffs of fresh floral pass quickly, stony/mineral undertone. palate: medium body, oily viscosity, high acid and mineral leave my tongue tingling. gorgeous. glad that I opened.

Toasted coconut, custard with white peach, wool, mallow, mango and a hint of coconut. Good mineral tension. Resonant, creamy. Fantastic texture, in a nice spot. I love how whenever I open a bottle of this, I have doubts on day one but by three or four they are a perfume factory.

Coconut nose. Honey and papaya, rich but not over the top. The salty mineral body frames the opulence of the wine. A big notch above the bottle of 2016 I had earlier this year.

Pretty notes of candied peach, taffy, buttered lemon, cotton candy, some really intoxicating fruit perfume on the nose. On the palate this is sweet; tastes like not insubstantial residual sugar.

Very hedonistic but there’s not nearly enough acid or the kind of searing minerality that balances the ripeness of best Rhone whites. For now at least, it is way too heavy for my palate. Very interesting to contrast with Aine’s second white hermitage, Chevalier du Sterimberg, which from my point of view has all that this is missing.

The weekend upon us and we're hosting another dinner party for a couple of friends. Tonight's theme was Rhone wine, so good stuff on deck, with age (mostly).

Couldn't get to notes; Entertaining guests first 😉.

Paired with Scallops in Nantua sauce, perfect.

Presented double-blind. Bright straw color in the glass. On the nose, medium+ intensity and crazy complex with orange, lemonade, stone fruits, tropical fruit, pineapple, Carmel apple, white pepper, toasted sour dough, saddle soap, and cotton candy. On the palate, the wine is dry and quite round. Deeply fruited and primary with juicy fruit bubble gum and holiday spices. The finish is long. Medium- acid, medium+ alcohol. Complex, rich in texture and slightly bitter. This vintage was 100% Marsanne from the Maison Blanche lieu-dit at the top of the hill. Whatever grapes don’t get used for the Domaine’s Hermitage Blanc are put into this bottling and made more or less the same way. I have a couple bottles holed away for down the road as I suspect these will drink very well for many years down the road.

Served double blind. Brilliant golden color, viscous. On the nose, tropical squishy fruit, cantaloupe, some floral herbs...like Herbs de Provence...some butterscotch and almonds...there definitely seems to be some oak here. On the palate, this is decadent. Again, loaded with tropical fruit and marzipan. Low-ish acid, higher abv, long finish...it just hangs. This is a wine of wonderful texture, for sure. Most guessed older Chardonnay from the new world. I was certain this was from the Rhône but I called 2014 CdP Blanc thinking it unlikely someone would have brought Hermitage Blanc to tasting group. I was wrong!! Wonderful stuff.

My contribution for a wine theme of “rosé and non-Chardonnay whites.” I initially thought this would be one of the bigger wines on the table (expecting a bunch of SauvBlancs and light bodied rosés, only for a 2008 SQN The Pontiff to claim that title), and while it eventually fleshed out, it took a while.

This negociant bottling of Chave's Hermitage blanc is made from 100% Marsanne from vine age between 50-60 years. This wine comes mainly from the lieu-dit called Maison Blanche which sits atop the hill of Hermitage.

I decanted this about 2hrs, then put it back in bottle to follow over the next 2-3hrs and it really hit stride towards the end. It poured a deep golden color, as expected. Roasted macadamia nuts and herb crusted yellow fruits on the nose. At first, it was like fine grained bitter honey, banana peel, and melon on the palate and a bit lighter than expected. It gained the traditional waxy component the longer it was open, as well as gained viscosity. The finish rounded out to show a mix of herbs, mineral, along some guava and papaya, and a dose of ginger. I think this is still young, and will be fun to follow over the next few years.

Oxidative tropical stone fruit marmalade

Baby. Great now but the future is bright