Chave Hermitage LA Dinner - Girl & The Goat Restaurant
Epic Chave Hermitage dinner at Girl & The Goat in downtown LA, hosted by Sebastian Kouladjian. Twelve of us at the meal, with vintages between 1983 and 2017, coupled with a pre-dinner Champagne tasting and 12 courses of some of the best food I’ve had in LA.
Line up and Tasting Notes:
Champagnes
2008 Piper-Heidsieck Rare
Krug Rose NV: Best NV on the market and the rose is special
Billecart-Salmon Rose NV
Chave Flights
Flight #1 - Hermitage Blanc
1989: Amazingly fresh and like dry Riesling, with hints of fennel, orange peel and honeysuckle. We were all shocked how good this showed, from the nose, through the mid palate and finish. This should last another decade.
2017: Similar profile to the 1989, but more primal. Could use a little more acidity, but a classic Rhone white.
Flight #2 - Hermitage Rouge
1983
1985: consensus top 3 of the night
1991
All great and showing well. The 83 was the most elegant with great acid profile. 85 was the nicest, perfect balance of acid and sweetness. 91 was dense, and could actually use more time. All beautiful
Flight #3 - Hermitage Rouge
2000: Consensus top 3 of the night
2003
2007
2000: Was virtually perfect. Beautiful fruit with a backbone of acid. Unctuous on the palate and structured, a gorgeous Chave. 2003 was over ripe and hot. Pruny notes that were off putting. Could be the bottle or the vintage. The 2007 was great, but more primal. Needs to shed some tannin. But should be a great Chave.
Flight #4 - Hermitage Rouge
2008
2009 1.5L: consensus top 3 of the night
2011
2015
2008 was beautiful. Needs a little time, and has a little more fruit than the 2007 without being over the top. 2009 is a perfect Chave and a beautiful start to what should be an epic Hermitage. 2011 was “ok”, and my least favorite wine of the night, when compared to some of the other vintages. 2015 was a monster. SQN like, but not as silky or sweet. Rich and massive. Will be a great Chave in time.
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Interested in taking it a Level Higher? Jean-Louis Chave Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin
The regular red Hermitage from the Chave family is considered a reference point for all other wines from the appellation but the Cuvée Cathelin takes it to another level.
Only 2,400 bottles of Cuvée Cathelin are produced in the vintages that live up to the family's strict quality requirements. A unique blend that combines fruit from several of the eight parcels that Chave owns on the Hermitage hill.
The family's great love for this wine means that not all these bottles are released for sale, making the sparsely produced quantities even harder to find.
In the end, the immortal Cuvée Cathelin ends up being "a brilliant wine that almost defies description" Robert Parker
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