Chave Crozes-Hermitage Le Rouvre 2023

Yann Chave’s domaine began in 1970, when his parents made their first purchase of vines and fruit trees in Crozes-Hermitage. After years in Paris, Yann returned home in the 1990s to focus the estate on fine wine, building an impressive reputation in the process. Jancis Robinson writes of his “really artisanal wine with masses of integrity and bags of personality,” while the Wine Advocate calls it “one of the most exciting estates in Crozes-Hermitage.”

A few years after his return home, Yann identified an old vine parcel in Crozes-Hermitage as worthy of its own cuvée and began producing “Le Rouvre.” The 2023 shows the extra intensity and length that comes from very old vines. Vinous awarded it 91 points, finding “black pepper and graphite accents, meticulously accompanied by finely tuned blackberry and dried violets.” It merits the higher price it carries and should continue to please for many years.