1989 Hermitage, Jean-Louis Chave (750ml)

Your Price: $299.00

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Vintage: 1989
Format: 750ml
Wine Name: Hermitage
Vineyard:
Designation:
Appellation: Hermitage
Producer: Jean-Louis Chave
Varietal: Syrah
Type: Red
Country: France
Region: Rhone
Sub-Region: Northern Rhone
Alcohol:

Tasting note: The 1989 is finally beginning to reveal all its glory. When I arrived at 6:00 p.m., September 11, 2001, at Domaine Chave, I found Chave in tears and his family distraught. I had heard about the attacks on the World Trade Center, but not the subsequent collapse of both towers. Gerard Chave knows all about suicidal bombers, having served in the French military during the Algerian revolution. It took a long time to gather sufficient focus to do my tastings. However, the brilliant wines that unfolded in the cellars were, at least for several hours, a much needed antidote for pushing to the back of my mind the horror of 9-11-01. (95pts. Robert Parker)

Tasted: Apr. 2002
Score: 95
Drink: 2005-30

Tasting note: Out of the blocks the 1989 Chave was a bit tough and a touch green-edged, due to the drought conditions that both Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie experienced. However the wine has been coming on strong now for several years, and is beginning to drink at its apogee. It is not as obviously structured as the 1988, and consequently, it is much better able to offer some opulence on the palate at the present time. This wine went through a rather herbal steak of adolescence in the mid-1990s, but has been blossoming ever since. The nose is deep and quite fine, jumping from the glass in a blend of red and black raspberries, mushrooms, hot stones, black olives, venison, a bit of bacon fat, woodsmoke and ground pepper. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, open and well-balanced, with fine mid-palate depth, great focus, sappy acidity, and a very long, complex and voluptuous finish. I have to give a very slight nod to the 1988 Chave for its greater precision and purity, but the 1989 is certainly no slouch. (93pts. John Gilman, View From the Cellar)

Tasted: Nov/Dec 2008
Score: 93
Drink: 2008-2030)

Tasting note: Good full dark red. Roasted aromas of currants, animal fur, pepper and smoke. Silky on entry, then closed in the middle palate, with some edgy acidity giving it a somewhat disjointed quality. In a rather roasted southern style; its slight green aspect and excess acidity in conjunction with its suggestions of surmaturité indicate that the fruit ripened too quickly. Not fun to drink today—will it retain enough freshness when it finally opens? This wine showed far better in the four or five years after the vintage. (90pts. Stephen Tanzer)

Tasted: Jul./Aug. 1999
Score: 90
Drink: N/A