96 DE / 95 JD / 94 WA / 91-94 VM / 18 JR
From 40-year-old vines in lieux-dits Beaume and Péléat, the grapes are hand harvested. There’s no pigeage, just déléstage, and the wine is matured in new and one-year-old demi-muids for 12 months, followed by a further six months in tank to settle and meld before bottling. This is a very deep, dark colour still, and quite closed on the nose, although there’s a whiff of soy and hot tar. The palate has a massive, statuesque tannic structure, a little blocky still and it needs time to resolve. It’s a very savoury style of 2015 Hermitage with plenty of impact and promises a lot. It has all it needs, and is currently like a coiled spring. Do buy it, but sit on it until 2025. Drinking Window 2025 – 2040 MW – Decanter
A wine that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves (probably because it’s made in tiny quantities), the inky colored 2015 Hermitage from Yann Chave comes all from the Les Beaumes lieu-dit and was completely destemmed and brought up in demi-muids. It is a rich, concentrated, yet structured Hermitage that’s going to require patience. Cassis, saddle leather, peppery herbs and scorched earth give way to a beautifully balanced, pure and focused 2015 that has plenty of raw material, yet isn’t going to be much fun to drink in its youth. – Jeb Dunnuck
