Last year I gave the 2009 Hermitage Cuvee Cathelin a three-digit rating, but it was nice to be able to re-taste it since it is largely impossible to find in the marketplace. Essentially 100% fruit from Les Bessards, this cuvee is only made in vintages where it will not compromise the integrity and quality of their standard Hermitage (although there is nothing standard about it). The Cuvee Cathelin sees more oak than its sibling, enjoys 50-75 years of aging potential, and boasts over-the-top blackberry and cassis fruit notes intertwined with pen ink, spring flower, graphite and subtle vanillin characteristics. It is a brilliant wine that almost defies description given its ethereal complexity allied to massive weight, power and richness. Yet, it never comes across as heavy or overly-extracted. Forget this for another decade and you and your progeny can enjoy it over the following 50-75 years. I have had the privilege of tasting at this brilliant family-owned estate for over 30 years. During that time, I have seen first-hand the glory of a true evolution from father Gerard Chave to his son, Jean-Louis, and of course, the Chave family has been doing this since 1472. It is one of those small but world-class wine enterprises that is truly inspiring. Tasting through the different vineyards before their newest red and white Hermitages are blended is an education in the different terroirs of that famous dome of largely decomposed granite mixed with gravel and clay. Jean-Louis Chave characterized the 2011 vintage as challenging, where one had to perform draconian crop-thinning and selections in the winery. All the St.-Joseph vineyards are located on steep hillsides near the Chaves’ home village of Mauves, to as far north as St.-Jean de Muzols and Ste.-Epine as well as those once known as Clos Florentin.

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