The Best of St. Joseph
Legendary Since 1481

Today is about the gorgeous wines from Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, and the property’s most important wine - Saint-Joseph! This iconic estate continues to be the benchmark of what constitutes a truly great St Joseph.These aren’t heavy wines, but they have complex, pretty and classic profiles that will drink well with just a few years of bottle age should you choose to lay them down.

Domaine Chave is one of the greatest and most historic properties in all of France. With a vine growing lineage going back to 1481 in the village of Mauves in St. Joseph, the Chave family is one of the founding families of modern-day Syrah from the Northern Rhone. Most noted for their iconic bottlings of Hermitage, the Chave family has always maintained a close connection and dedication to St. Joseph, making this their most important wine.

Jean-Louis Chave has undertaken the task to rebuild and revitalize the vineyards of St. Joseph, first by physically restoring the family’s long-standing holdings as well as acquiring historic sites over the years. Secondly, Jean-Louis has set about to rebuild and revitalize the image and appreciation for St. Joseph. In our humble opinion the Chave St. Joseph is the textbook example of what a great St. Joseph is all about. This is the benchmark of the region today that proudly pulls from its historical roots and lineage. It is a wine that has adapted and evolved over the centuries to match the terroir, climate, cuisine and tastes of the consumers. With Chave that historical connection is what pulls everything together it is equally important as the spine of acidity that keeps every great wine alive.

"...the 2022s were tasted from barrel, and this is a ripe, sunny, yet also tannic vintage that’s going to benefit from its élevage, as well as require bottle age. They remind me slightly of Chave’s 1998, although as I say in the review, I think there’s a touch more sun-kissed fruit in the 2022s. The 2021s are beautiful, elegant, seamless wines, and you’ll be hard pressed to do better in the vintage. These aren’t massive wines, but they have pretty, complex, and classic profiles that will drink well with just a few years of bottle age." Jeb Dunnuck

No matter the vintage - no matter how great or how difficult the vintage may be - if there was only one winemaker whose wines I could buy it would be Jean-Louis Chave.

Jean-Louis Chave is, without question, one of the greatest winemakers of the past fifty years. His wines and skills have been lauded by every wine publication, retailer and restaurant there is. The Chave wines from Jean-Louis Chave are legendary for one reason - they are always very good!

Meticulous, talented, gifted and god-like are just some of the descriptors used to describe Jean-Louis Chave by some of the most influential and important wine personalities during my twenty-eight year career. In short, there may never be any other vigneron that is so deeply entrenched in their vineyards and wines as Jean-Louis Chave.

Cheers,
Jeremy