CHAVE ST. JOSEPH

Description

The Chave family has been making wine in the Northern Rhone since 1481 when the original Jean Louis Chave (the current head is also Jean Louis, the 25th of his name in the family) was granted vineyard land in what is now the St. Joseph appellation, by a nobleman named Farconnet. That land was around the town of Mauves just a few kilometres away from Tain l’Hermitage but on the opposite bank of the river, where they are still based today and continue to make their wines. For the astute who are familiar with the history of St. Joseph, and know about the official boundary expansion in 1969 to vineyards far to the north (and often not of the same calibre as the original ones), you’ll duly note that the Chave family vineyards are squarely in the original borders; and further, encompass some of the best sites that appellation has to offer.

For the current head of the family, rebuilding the original St. Joseph and restoring it to its former glory is his passion project. Jean-Louis has done immense restorative work all over the core of the appellation. The family even employs a full-time stone mason for rebuilding ancient terraces. They have bought all sorts of prized parcels, many of which had fallen by the wayside, and needed dedicated work to re-domesticate vines that had been long abandoned; and alongside all of that work, Jean-Louis has been studiously converting all of the acquired vineyards to biodynamic farming. The prestige of their Hermitage wines across the river is what affords him the opportunity to pursue this passion project, which he is ever-cognizant of, and thus he still puts great effort into those bottlings.

In the likeness of the top label Hermitage, this bottling is a blend of the best lieux-dits that the Domaine owns. “A tasting of the various constituent lieux-dits revealed that the Bachesson parcel had a peppery side and its characteristic rose scent, and an unmistakably granitic texture. The Chalaix lieu-dit was precise, fine, with no huge concentration but good balance. Lieu-dit Dardouille was looking promising, with good weight and length. The finished blend of the domaine’s St-Joseph is likely to be neat, precise and fresh, with a distinct mineral side, one to drink relatively young. There will be no separate bottling of Clos Florentin this year due to frost.” – Decanter