Domaine Jean Louis Chave, Hermitage, Blanc 2005

The 2005 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc is everything you’d expect from a great Northern Rhône white from this famous producer. Garrigue, beeswax, lemon, shiso leaf, poached apricot, pear and many other aromas and flavors wafted out of the glass. What you have to love about this wine is how the contributions of both the old-vine Roussanne and the Marsanne in the blend are clearly recognizable, and the sum is more than the individual parts. The wine overpowered some of the dishes I ate on this night but actually married better with the tofu in casserole and the slightly gelatinous rice soup than I had imagined.

• Drinking Window: 2019 - 2022
• Reviewer Name: Ian d'Agata
• Review Date: April 2019