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Domaine Yann Chave Le Rouvre Crozes-Hermitage 2021
Crozes-Hermitage AOC
It’s surprising that a winemaker as consistently brilliant as Chave could have managed to fly under the radar for so long. But now word is out. This small-yield vintage 2021 is intense with layers of bramble fruit and peppery, herbal complexity.
Beyond the Label
Tasting notes
Immensely concentrated and very fine with lavish fruit complexity
Aroma
Haunting notes of cracked pepper, olive tapenade and black cherries
Allergy information
Contains sulphites
Yann Chave is hot property. His wines are listed by top Michelin-starred French chefs, Bocuse, Ducasse and Troisgros among them. His flagship Le Rouvre is always impressive, as good as many a Hermitage – as Jeb Dunnock said, "I continue to love these wines from Yann Chave". Le Rouvre has a haunting aroma of cracked pepper and olive tapenade with swathes of black cherry and wild herbs. Remarkably smooth and balanced, so it'll not only drink beautifully in youth but will age gracefully, too. All the Syrah grapes are from near-60-year-old vines grown near the Pont de l’Isère. Destemmed, the free-run juice of the grapes is fermented with natural yeasts and the wine matured in large, neutral oak barrels. Superb with lamb or a herby casserole.
93 points
