Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 2006

Professional Ratings

• 99 Wine Spectator
  Intense, rich and remarkably focused, this offers stunning purity of fruit, such as Jonagold apple and Cavaillon melon, along with enticing heather honey, roasted macadamia nut, orange blossom and dried persimmon notes, all laid over a dense but brilliantly defined palate. The nearly endless finish of beeswax and buttered brioche is absolutely fantastic.
• 98 Jeb Dunnuck
  Still fresh and lively, and drinking beautifully now at age 12, the 2006 Hermitage Blanc offers still fresh notes of buttered citrus, baking spices, white flowers, toasted nuts, and hints of licorice. A quintessential Hermitage Blanc, with incredible fruit, obvious minerality, and a richness that's offset by striking minerality and elegance, drink this beauty any time over the coming decade or more.
• 97 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The bottled 2006 Hermitage blanc is remarkably powerful (around 15% natural alcohol), and demonstrates the heights white wine varietals reached in the northern Rhone in 2006. Its sumptuous nose reminds me of a liqueur of white flowers intermixed with notions of truffles, white peaches, honeysuckle, marmalade, and crushed rocks. Dense, full-bodied, and super-powerful as well as flowery, with razor-like focus, this magnificent white Hermitage should drink well for 25-30 years.