1979 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 93.7 points

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  11/2/2020 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 93 Points

  Interesting, unique, and hard to pin-point. Spent five hours with the bottle as it went though a number of phases and expressions. I've never been the biggest white Rhone fan so I'm not a great judge. The initial comment is heavily oxidative and sherried, not unlike hairspray. There is honey, dried apricot, and a smoky beeswax and extinguished candle character about the whole thing. Certainly complex and nuanced to smell and parse out. The palate is not as oily or viscous as young examples I remember. Colour in the decanter brightened up considerably from a dirty amber to a cleaner gold. All in all a little too sherried for me, but an undoubtedly unique wine. 93 - 94?

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  3/1/2019 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 97 Points

  This was opened to breath, then kept cool for about two hours before diving it, and boy was it spectacular! The color was a very pretty amber. The armoas were the best part of this bottle, showing unique notes that remind me of a sugar and cinnimon covered muffin, or some form of sugar bun... something that somehow seems sweet. That bun has almond shavings on top, too. This is so decadent, creamy and lush, but it feels very elegant and graceful at the same time. Like a classy old woman who still has it ALL together. This is definitely not a nose that one comes across in wine very often, so there's definitely something more to it than the simplicity of descriptors I'm using. Again, it's more about its presence. Absolutely incredible depth on the palate. It's just so unique and voluminous in the mouth, and you want to hold it there forever. The texture is great, with a luscious creamed acorn notion, and some bruised apple skins. The texture is killer... it comes across wish such class, confidence, and grace. There's a streak of acidity on the palate that's really nice, and offers a nice counterpoint with that creamy nuttiness. The finish shows some acorn nuttiness and a really big, long stream of minerality that lingers. The finish has a really fine acid, but there is a little stale book that isn't ideal. This wine did decline slightly towards the end of the night, but I'm going to stick with my initial inclination on this bottle which left me aghast for the first hour, with every sip I took. It was spectacular... one of the finest I've had in the last few years, and certainly the best 1979 I've ever had. I'd probably knock it down a couple points if I only consumed it at the end of the 5 hours it was open as it lost a bit of the complexity on the finish at the end.

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  3/8/2010 - Kirk Grant wrote:

  Color: deep golden yellow
  
  Smell: Nutty aromas with a hint of honey and bees wax
  
  Taste: In the mouth this was really unique. I can say that I've never had a wine like this in the past and it was quite interesting. Flavors ranged from a variety of nuts with faint honey and apple note.
  
  Overall: I don't think it's fair to say this wine was past...because it did not taste bad. However, I do believe this is a wine that needed something suited to meet it where it was at. Quite unique, and very interesting as there was still acidity and a hint of fruit left. I have no clue what to think of this wine...but I'm glad I've had the experience.

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