Crozes-Hermitage (7) Yann Chave
I met Daphné Chave for lunch at 1906, and we were later joined by her father, Yann Chave. Daphné tells me that her parents started the domaine in the 1990s. The family had a farm that, like many in the region, was focusing on peaches, cherries and apricots plus some vineyards. Yann took thinks more in the direction of vines, because this is what really interested him. He began farming organically, and because it’s really hard to farm fruit trees organically, he decided to remove them, which he did in 2003.
1996 until 2003 was the transition between generations. The Chaves bought more parcels of vines, planted some truffle trees where they’d had fruit trees. The vineyard area when Yann started was 5 hectares in Crozes Hermitage and 1 in Hermitage, which his parents had bought in 1981. Now there’s 1.2 hectares in Hermitage and 18 hectares in Crozes-Hermitage, plus a new acquisition: 2 hectares in Saint-Joseph, with the first vintage of this in 2023.
Daphne and her brother Gautier are the next generation and they are still in the travelling the world to gain experience before taking over the family domaine phase. She’s worked in South Africa (Reyneke), Australia (Torbreck, in the Barossa), Argentina (Michelini), Priorat (Alvaro Palacios) and Bourgogne (Sylvain Pataille in Marsannay). Gautier’s overseas experience includes New Zealand (Obsidian, Waiheke), Bourgogne (Rene Bouvier), and Argentina (Ricatelli).
But it’s not just the kids who are wanting to do cool things. Yann wanted a wine globe (a glass fermenter), so he bought it. And the cellar is being extended, and he’s adding concrete. The approach is to let the place speak: ‘We don’t want our ego to be projected in the wines,’ says Daphne.
Yann says that Crozes-Hermitage has finished its growth spurt, and won’t increase further. It’s now 10% forest and 10% apricot trees, plus some houses, so there’s not much room to grow. ‘It’s reached its peak,’ he says. Remarkably, 60% of production is organic. ‘Big houses have pushed for this and have made a change,’ he says. They are also good at farming organically, so even in a tricky year like 2024 yields averaged 38 hl/ha.
But there is still a little bit of planting going on. The Chaves are currently planting an old Clos. They bought it, and it was covered by forest on a hillside. They found a tower in the middle of it: back in the 1930s this was called Clos Madeline, and the soils are brown clay with small pebbles.
Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2023 France
13% alcohol. They have two plots in white with clay/limestone soils covered by galets roules, and this is a blend of 70% Marsanne and 30% Roussanne. This is pressed, cold settled and fermented with wild yeast (all fermentations are native at the domaine). It’s then racked and left in stainless steel until the following April. Such fine texture here with pear and white peach fruit, and a floral edge. Finely textured with some spicy detail. Very textural with nice balance. 94/100
Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage Rouge 2023 France
13% alcohol. Organic. Lovely concentration and intensity here. Quite bold, ripe and lush, with notes of roast meat and charcoal as well as sweet cherries and berries, with a bit of peppery detail. Nice flesh, but also some mineral concentration, too. A bold but balanced style that works really well, and finishes with spicy detail. 95/100
Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage Le Rouvre 2022 France
13.5% alcohol. Organic. Lovely balance here, with bold, focused berry and cherry fruits, as well as a touch of blackcurrant richness. Has some pepper and olive character in the background, with some liquid rock character adding savoury interest. 94/100
Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage La Rouvre 2020 France
This is a 2 hectare plot that Daphne’s grandfather bought, with lots of pebbles in the soil. The Syrah is massal selection and the vines are over 60 years old, in a warmer terroir in the south of the appellation. Yann found that this parcel had its own identity. Aged 18 months in demi muids (600 litres). Lovely finesse and tension here with floral black cherries and some raspberry crunch. Fine peppery hints, too. Stony, mineral, detailed and very fine. 95/100
Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage La Rouvre 2018 France
14% alcohol. Wonderful aromatics of meat and olives with some ripe blackberry fruit. Lovely richness. Shows pepper and roast meat with rich black fruits, but it finishes fresh and grainy. 95/100
Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage La Rouvre 2007 France
13.5% alcohol. This is still so fresh with a dusty, savoury, slightly grippy edge to the sweet cherry and raspberry fruit. This shows nice spicy, grainy complexity. 94/100
CROZES-HERMITAGE
- Chapoutier
- Paul Jaboulet Aîné
- Maison et Domaines Les Alexandrins
- Cave de Tain
- Delas Frères
- Yann Chave
- Luc Tardy/Domaine du Murinais
- Domaine Combier
- Domaine Delhome
- Domaine Pradelle
- Antoine Graillot/ Domaine des Lises/ Domaine Alain Graillot
- Domaine des Hauts Châssis
- Domaine Belle
- Clairmont Cooperative
- Domaine Laurent Fayoll
