There are precious few names in the Northern Rhône that have the same prestige, history, and current esteem as that of Jean-Louis Chave. His domaine Hermitage and Saint-Joseph bottlings are some of the most collectable wines from this region; they are the bluest of blue chips. However, the secret value that lies in today’s “Offerus” is not well understood or appreciated. The JL Chave Selection project began in the mid 1990s with purchased fruit, but today the Saint-Joseph is over 60% estate fruit, planted on ancient terraces that have been in the Chave family for generations. This is now clearly top tier Syrah, and yet the price is comparable, even less than many of the more average offerings from this appellation. I can’t overstate how much pure, unadulterated, Northern Rhône terroir magnificence you get in this bottle for well under $50. It’s astounding. We have the last tranche of cases from the excellent 2022 vintage, but they won’t last long!
Jean-Louis Chave is the 16th consecutive generation of his family to farm Syrah in France’s northern Rhône Valley. He is a quiet and understated man who, unlike many of his peers, prefers to spend his time in the vineyard, rather than jet setting around to rub elbows with critics and wealthy collectors. The Chave estate’s reputation is built entirely on centuries of manual labor and legendary wine. There are no vanity projects on the side, and little if any effort is paid to marketing, PR, or building “hype” around the wines—a google search reveals that the estate doesn’t even have a website! But it is obvious when drinking Jean-Louis’ wines that he has devoted all resources to what matters most—his terroir.
The family’s involvement in viticulture originated in the present day Saint-Joseph appellation before proceeding north to the hill of Hermitage. Despite the prestige and stratospheric prices of the Jean-Louis’ Hermitage reds, the family cellar remains across the river in Saint-Joseph. A visit to the estate often leaves one with the impression that this appellation may be Jean-Louis’ true passion. Saint-Joseph is a dramatically steep and rocky AOC that towers above the villages of Mauves and Tournon-sur-Rhône. There is not “soil” here so much as a near vertical 1,000-foot high wall of granite terraces. Jean-Louis works daily with a small army of workers to continually rebuild and strengthen the stone terraces as they continuously erode down the steep mountainside. Jean-Louis reclaimed and replanted much of these vineyards in the 1990s, and at the same time launched the JL Chave Selections project which allowed him to purchase top tier fruit from his neighbors. However, those replanted vines are now approaching 30 years of age and every vintage they make up a higher percentage (over 60% now) of the “Offerus” bottling.
His work in the cellar mimics his straightforward personal manner; there is no complicated technique or space-aged wine making equipment. Harvesting is all done by hand and juice is simply pressed into stainless steel fermenters before extended aging in a variety of young and older french oak barrels. That’s it. And as with many of my favorite estates in Europe, the majority of work that goes into each bottle of Chave occurs in vines, and the single intent of each cuvée is to express its terroir or origin; not to follow trends or appeal to a given audience. If nothing else, Jean-Louis’ wines are about one thing—purity.
In the glass, the 2022 JL Chave Saint-Joseph “Offerus” is incredibly concentrated with a deep purple core that extends to the rim. On the palate, it is everything I seek in Saint-Joseph—pure granite minerality, tart plummy fruit and meaty, smoky spices all tied together by densely layered structure. The wine’s tannins are chewy, and slightly ornery—proof that the wine will easily evolve in the cellar for another decade. As with all great expressions of Syrah in the northern Rhône valley, the take home message here is aromas: black fruit, smoked meat, violets, turkish coffee, kalamata olives and of course, the wild herbs that blanket the hillsides around Saint-Joseph. This is a soulful wine that is impossible to separate from its place of origin. I recommend decanting this wine for 1 hour and serving in a large Bordeaux stem. The wine is just entering its prime and will shine brightly if served alongside a simple and rustic Pot-au-Feu. As one final note, I want to stress that all Chave reds are built for extended aging, and this wine is no exception. For a relatively modest price, it is an ideal addition to the “do not touch” corner of your cellar. I drink older vintages of this cuvée whenever I see them on restaurant lists and I have never once been disappointed.
