The Other Chave - Coming of Age
2011 Chave St. Joseph
"This wine can stand up to many wines from Hermitage from this vintage." -Josh Raynolds for Stephen Tanzer
Chave just nailed the 2011 vintage. Across the board, the wines have a structure, a complexity and dynamism that's almost without peer in 2011.
In 2011, Chave's St. Joseph has reached a whole new level. We've been fans of St. Joseph for many years, but the 2011 is special.
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Jean-Louis Chave has been a major proponent of St. Joseph's potential. He's been buying choice parcels here and painstakingly rebuilding terraces since the mid-nineties to add to his family's small holdings that go back many, many years. By all appearances, 2011 marks the year that the St. Joseph comes of age.
When it comes to Syrah, few if any families have the touch that the Chave's do. No one can render the grape with the combination of sophistication and depth that they do.
What really wowed us with Chave's 2011 St. Joseph is how ultra-pure fruit marries with a granite mineral back-bone and coalesces in an elegant, long and saturating total package.
Chave is, of course, famous for their Hermitage. However, the family's wine growing roots, which go back to 1481, reside in St. Joseph. Today, the family's home is in Mauves, a village in the St. Joseph appellation. For all the attention that Chave's Hermitage gets, their St. Joseph clearly boasts their skill in making some of the most majestic Syrahs on earth at a fraction of the cost and not needing decades upon decades to reach full maturity.
Simply put, this is a stunning version of the wine. For me, it's a don't miss. Being Chave, the quantities available are small. Please give us your ideal order and we'll do our best.
To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
Josh Raynolds for Stephen Tanzer: "Inky ruby. Spicy blackberry and blueberry scents are complicated by smoky minerals and candied violet. Elegant, focused and penetrating, offering floral black and blue fruit flavors and a suave, silky texture. The long, expansive finish repeats the floral and spice notes and features velvety, slow-building tannins. This wine can stand up to many wines from Hermitage from this vintage and is a fantastic value, relatively speaking."