Jean-Louis Chave - Hermitage 2022 (Pre-arrival) (1.5L)

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Decanter: 98 Points

"A tasting of the different lieux-dits showed how the different soil types reacted to the drought. Granite-based parcels (Ermite, Les Bessards) suffered blockages in ripening and finished at 13% alcohol; the clay-based terroirs (Le Méal, Les Beaumes) didn't stop ripening and finished at 15%. The overall blend will be powerful but fragrant, complex and stylistically sits within other recent dry and hot vintages, and isn't outside the current norm (it's nothing like the similarly extreme 2003). Picking started at the end of August."-Matt Walls

Vinous: 96-98 Points

Jeb Dunnuck: 95-97 Points

"The 2022 Hermitage will be a beauty, but it has the focused, firmer, straight style of the vintage. As usual, I was able to taste through all of the lieux-dits: Péleat, Les Beaumes, L'Ermite, Le Méal, and Les Bessards, all being mid- to upper-90s ratings, the standouts being L’Ermite and Bessards, with the Méal possessing a more focused, tannic style than normal. All of the barrels I was able to taste had remarkable purity, beautiful overall balance, and classic Hermitage class, with an incredible sense of minerality. This is a great wine, but it's going to take a decade of bottle age. The firmer structure and incredible minerality actually remind me of the 1998, although I think there's a touch more sun-kissed fruit here.This iconic estate continues to hold the line on what constitutes a truly great Hermitage, both red and white, and there are few vinous treats better than a tasting with Jean-Louis Chave in his cellar in Mauve. Looking at the wines reviewed here, 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. On another level, the 2020s are powerful, massive wines that remind me slightly of the 2010s (or is it 2009s?). They have tons of baby fat and are already fun to taste, but these are built for the long haul."-Jeb Dunnuck