1998 Hermitage Blanc
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I wish I had more opportunities to drink Hermitage Blanc, as I adore the wines, especially with some bottle age. Chave’s 1998 is distinctly ripe and tropical in style. Peach, apricot pit, savory herbs, honey and mint emerge, but it is the wine’s racy, extroverted personality that is front and center. I imagine the 1998 will drink well for a number of years to come, although I don’t expect to see it improve materially. Still, the 1998 is very pretty, especially in the way its raciness pairs with the bold, lusty flavors in the pastas.
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Robert Parker
Robert Parker
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A retasting of the 1998 Hermitage blanc confirmed its brilliant quality. It is an elegant, floral-scented, structured white Hermitage. It boasts fabulous concentration, but is less flattering and precocious than either the 1999 or 2000. If the latter two wines lean toward a flamboyant style, the 1998 should prove to be one of the more muscular, long lived, backward efforts requiring patience. 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. Importers: Langdon Shiverick, Cleveland OH; tel. (216) 861-6800 and Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524
A retasting of the 1998 Hermitage blanc confirmed its brilliant quality. It is an elegant, floral-scented, structured white Hermitage. It boasts fabulous concentration, but is less flattering and precocious than either the 1999 or 2000. If the latter two wines lean toward a flamboyant style, the 1998 should prove to be one of the more muscular, long lived, backward efforts requiring patience. Apr 2002, www.robertparker.com
About the producer
The Chaves have been growing grapes in the Northern Rhône since 1481. Jean-Louis Chave is the 16th generation to head up the family domaine, having taken over from his father in 1992.