2012 Jean-Louis Chave L`Hermitage Rouge

One of the more charming and forward efforts from Chave, the 2012 Hermitage sports a mostly opaque purple color to go with classic creme de cassis and blackberry fruits intermixed with notions of lead pencil shavings, violets and powdered rocks. Deep, full-bodied and sumptuously textured, with good freshness, this pure, elegant Hermitage shows more and more definition and cut with time in the glass, but never loses it`s more fruit forward, charming profile. I suspect it will drink nicely for most of its life. 96 points

Les Beaumes was muscular, round, rich and substantial. Very long-term wine with lots of chew yet with sap, power and roundness. Peleat was pure, transparent pepper. Sweet, easy, lifted and transparently nervy. Meal (14%) was particularly dark ruby with sinews, structure and masses of tannin. L`Hermite, usually the last to be picked, was extremely complex on the nose as well as being particularly big and beefy yet had admirable freshness. Bessards JL Chave regards as perhaps the most typical of Hermitage - very powerful with a dry finish and an admirable spine. 19 points