JL Chave Selection, Crozes-Hermitage, Silene

Purple rim. Nice weight, dusty tannins, a bit of a green herbaceous note on top of dark fruit. Improved slightly after 2 hours.

2018 vintage

Turned; disappointing….

2018 vintage

Tasted after a 45 minute decant. Dark ruby in colour with aromas of cured meat & liquorice/leather. On the palate, full bodied savoury & juicy black fruit, blackberry, black cherry, floral, chocolate, medium acidity, medium soft tannins with a medium to long finish to leather & a hint of pepper. Definitely lost some bite from the previous bottle & I’m inclined to recommend : drink up!

2016 vintage

Concentrated dark fruit and prominent tannins gave a burly impression upon opening. After 30 minutes of air it mellowed nicely showing notes of smoked meat and smoke. Good Northern Rhone at a reasonable price.

2016 vintage

Dark ruby with hints of purple. Medium intense nose of blackberries, blackcurrant, , some black olives, some smoke, some earthy elements, some oak and vanilla. Palate similar. Quite intense and persistent. Quite good concentration. Some white pepper, some earthy elements. The maturity serves it well - better than 4 years ago when last tried. Perf for game, meat and BBQ. Medium body, medium acidity and light towards medium tannins.

2018 vintage

Nose of jammy raspberry and rosemary. Medium bodied and fruity with some evergreen notes. Slightly chewy. Lengthy, think finish.

2018 vintage

Tasted after a 75 minute decant, probably should have been less. Medium to dark ruby in colour with lovely aromas of leather, cured meat & liquorice. On the palate, medium bodied both sweet & savoury black fruit, blackberry/black cherry, becoming floral as it opened up, cured meat, leather, medium acidity, medium soft tannins with a long finish to pepper & chocolate. This wine has nicely softened up from our earlier tastings, but still has good flavour complexity. Great flavour on …

2016 vintage

Paré de sa robe opaque d’une teinte pourpre aux reflets rubis, cette syrah rhodanienne est à la fois robuste, intense, équilibrée et élégante. Ses arômes et ses saveurs d’olive noire, de graphite, de mûre et de poivre noir, jumelées à sa sève volumineuse et à sa texture veloutée me catapultent au septième ciel.

2018 vintage

Compared to the Lises, this wine is less fresh with more licorice, tobacco, pencil lead, and stewed fruits in the flavor profile. I also get more bacon flavor with black pepper and menthol on the finish on the finish. Nice garigue and chalkiness. It’s spicy, fruity, and not too funky. This is a good wine. I liked the Lises slightly better, but both bottles were impressive for the price.

2016 vintage

A lot of setiment in my bottle. But drinking nicely after a short decant. More mature than expected. One more bottle left. Thinks this bottle is a small bit off.

2018 vintage

Mid purple with lovely scents of lavender, smoke, mineral, dried earth, fennel bulb and ripe black cherries. Mid-bodied, the opening is all garrigue, and warm gravel, whilst the core is fleshy with morello cherry and those fennel fronds / aniseed elements. Chalky tannins in the mid-palate are grippy with a sweet rubbing texture and a coolness from a fresh acidity to give the wine a spine and medium length.

2016 vintage

First bottle drunk on release continues to surpass subsequent bottles, as with time vibrancy seems to be giving way to weight—and this had a fair amount of weight to begin with. Still shows lovely fruit and manages to push the envelope on ripeness without any sign of sweetness.

2018 vintage

Brooding nose of dark fruit, dark chocolate, raw meat, and a hint of caramel. Tangy red cherry and cranberry palate with strong acidity, adding wet stones and blood orange along the way. Acidity washes away into soft tannins on the finish.

2018 vintage

Nose: olives and beef jerky... after a lot of air the pepper starts to appear. Palate: more olives, herbs, some coy red fruit. It's coming around and while the nose is dialed in the palate still seems a bit tight or lacking. I'm hoping another 6 months to a year will give enough time for something more substantial to happen to the flavors. If it does, this is a great value syrah.

2018 vintage

Started off a bit cloying but settled with some air. This comes across as a bit overly fruity with rough tannins. There’s some good stuff here, but unlike a lot of wines in this price point made by producers of this quality that are Simpler versions of top tier wines, this tastes like a somewhat rougher version of the St. Joseph estate. It’s a bit off balance, tannins a bit rough and seems like there is residual sugar or cloying …

2018 vintage

Mineral-tinged purple fruit leads the way, with veins of zesty acidity peeking through on the very long finish. This deftly straddles the line of being rich and dense, but without sweetness or excessive weight. And then there is the immensely silky and polished texture, which makes it nearly impossible to resist. Wow.

2018 vintage

Nose: big chew bubble gum, some violets, blue fruit. Garrigue comes out with air. Palate: olives, sour dark fruit.

2018 vintage

Super beau et étoffé, belle matière. Nez dense sur les fruits noires et les épices avec une pointe de fumée. En bouche, il a son gras de bébé encore. Des mures et du poivre avec du bacon et de la tapenade. Belle acidité et tannins fins. Super long et savouraux, la finale nous laisse sur une belle impression de minéraux. EXCELLENT.

2018 vintage

One of the best Croze I have drank. Fruity, well integrated tannins, long finish... I am going to by more to drink over the next few year.

2018 vintage

juicy dark berries, savory olives, and stemmy green notes on the back end. delicious, deep, and easy. good now or for many years.

2018 vintage

Strålende mørk og fruktig. Litt for mye av alt og trenger litt tid. Men drikker godt i små slurker og lukkede øyne. Flott duft og lang rik ettersmak med balansert syre som biter litt

2018 vintage

Better showing than my last note, likely some settling down after travel. Dark fruit, still primary. Concentrated and slightly better wine than a 2017 Lafage Bastide Miraflors. Ripe tannins in the background and so should drink well now, only question is if it develops further with age. Good value and may develop further. B+/A-?

2018 vintage

Dark cherries meet charred steak.

2018 vintage

PNP. Dark, ripe red and blue fruits. Good fruit and concentration. Tannins are soft and integrated. Overall this is nice and easy to drink but a bit grapey for me right now without really any distinction to it - vs. say the 2017 Offerus that I tasted recently. Good quality and possibly I am missing what might come with more time in the bottle, but at this price I would want to taste this against say a Lafage Bastide Miraflors …

2018 vintage

Tasted over 2 days. Really juicy and a nice experience. Need a bit of air and will be nice to drink the next 4-5 years.

2018 vintage

Smooth as silk. Depth of fruit by pretty asa well.

2012 vintage

High A- or low A. Wonderfully full in mouthfeel with lots of dark cherries on the nose and palate with a little light woody when tasting as well. Pleasant, lingering finish.

2018 vintage

A little heady with alcohol, but ultimately cuddly nose of ripe, warm, oaky fruit- blueberry preserves, blackberry pie, maraschino cherry, black licorice, light nutmeg and florals. Not /overly/ hot or jammy, but not much classical, savory syrah character, mostly warm purple fruit and oak. Palate is the highlight, with a surprising acidic lift, and little notes of blackberry with olives, giving a gentle saline (Silène!?) tone to the lingering finish. Elegant, fine-grained tannins throughout. Very drinkable for a warm, 14.5% …

2018 vintage

Decanted for three hours. The aromatic complexity and definition of this wine is exemplary, especially for its appellation and price point. It covers the whole range from warm spices and black olives, via jasmin and violets, croquant blueberries and raspberries to peaches and green apple skins. The alcoholic weight (14.5% ABV) is noticeable but it does not get in the way, the palate is tight but deliciously creamy and juicy, with fondant tannins and a lovely minerally freshness, the finish …

2018 vintage

As Nov 2019 note

2016 vintage

Deep red rather than purple . Light on its feet - not “serieux” - gushingly lovely stuff .

2016 vintage

2016 has been a challenging year for Hermitage, as hail in April caused a severe reduction in volume. The quality of the final product, however, benefitted from perfect temperatures in Autumn. Silene is a selection from Jean Louis Chave, who cultivated this land since XV century. The granite soil of Crozes is fully reflected in the wine, showing raspberry notes on a mineral vein. Time will allow to grow up some more interesting tertiary flavors, for now limited to tobacco …

2016 vintage

5+12+16+8=91

2016 vintage

picked up few bottles of this after tasting - bacon and forest floor play well with the blackberry flavors - will need a year or two to calm down

2016 vintage

An excellent value Syrah from the master JL Chave; the nose is classic with dark fruit, smoky meat, violets, and hints of earth. The palate has beautiful balance and really excellent concentration for a Crozes-Hermitage. Delicious, a definite buy for anyone wanting to try good Rhone Syrah for a pretty reasonable price.

2012 vintage

This is delicious and drinking well. Earthy flavors, light bodied but with considerable nuanced fruit and leather notes.

2012 vintage

Dark fruits, olive tapenade, smoke, meat, and damp earth. Good balance and nice finish. For the price this is a lovely wine and a nice way to taste syrah in the hands of a master. Quite tasty.

2012 vintage

Med+ intensiteit, kersenrood, dunne witte rand. Zwart fruit (cassis, braam, donkere kers), floraliteit, fijne kruidigheid (tabak, peper, wat munt), mineraliteit, en wat fijne eiktoetsen. Mooie zuivere neus. Frisse aanzet met wat schurende tannines. Uitgesproken peperig in middenstuk, en op het eind rood en zwart fruit. In afdronk wat zachtere tannines. Saliniteit! Goede lengte, genoeg complexiteit. Mooie wijn, mooie fles. Enkel de opliggende tannines zijn wat minder.

2012 vintage

Bright color, ruby. Raspberries, light jam, wet earth, bacon fat, petrol, minerals. Med body, somewhat thin on the mid and med finish. Very fresh and light, elegant style, soft tannins. Dark plumbs, bacon fat, other nose elements come thru on the palate. This is way lighter than i expected, Russian River Syrah lite (Martinelli/Dehlinger). I see the appeal, prefer the weight and power of the RRV Syrahs. Day 2 - softer w/ more floral than earthy/funk/bacon notes. This is a …

2012 vintage

Yes, yes, yes, delicious! Juicy and supple, fresh and energetic, cool and mineral, peppery lift, well-defined fruit (peach, spiced raspberry, ripe red cherry), medium weight, violets and roses, slightly lactic, pure and elegant, lovely length, holds up well on day two. A wonderful Crozes, drink now - 2018/20.

2012 vintage

As before. Creamy and fruity and peppery, forward and spirited, mineral and spicy, fresh and engaging, juicy and fruity, floral and with very good flavour persistence. A frank and delightful Crozes.

2012 vintage

Med intense kersenrode kleur. Nog wat poaars aan de rand. Brede lichtere rand. Med intense neus met zwart fruit, pepertjes en kruidigheid. Florale tonen, jasmijn en brem, met rode bessen, bramenen blauwe bosbes. Witte peper, en een beetje animaliteit op de achtergrond. Mooi en boeiend op dag 2. Aanzet met zwart fruit en wat materie. Zuren komen in middenstuk, en zachte tannines komen later het evenwicht mee afmaken. Alcohol is merkbaar, maar wordt in toom gehouden. Heeft wat tijd nodig, …

2012 vintage

Identical to my previous note. So delicious. Has lost much of its excitement on the second day however, so probably best to drink young.

2012 vintage

Semi Lucent Pinky garnet. M+ Red fruit, raspberry, woody. Spicy still a hint of greenish. Hint of Sawdust. medium+ acidity, medium- sweetness, m- delicate tannin. M- alcohol. Redfruit and eucalyptus on the palate and in the finish. A Syrah from a less ripe parcel. H2s in the empty glass.

2012 vintage

Drank over 4-5 days and held strong. Straight forward syrah with dark fruits, earth and pepper. Good value

2012 vintage

Good on day 1, very good on day 2. No detailed notes but I do recall that upon opening, it had a surprising tartness for syrah. This was completely gone on the 2nd day though. Young right now, I would hold this for a year or two and try again.

2012 vintage

Popped and poured, consumed over 2 hours. Nose: Medium expressiveness, blueberry, pine needles, black pepper and earth. Palate: Medium-full bodied, dark fruit attack, solid acidic back-bone drives a mid-palate lift that's joined by underbrush, earth, and black pepper. Finish: Medium-plus length sense of dark fruit, earth, and black pepper. Great balance from front to back - very nice wine.

2012 vintage

This is quintessential young Crozes. Ripe fruit, warm spices, black pepper, hint of smoky bacon, energetic and mineral core, floral lift, cool and bright acidity, clean as a whistle, engaging phenolic grip, good length. Excellent QPR. Drink now and over the next 5 years.

2012 vintage

13-01-2016: Med intense body, kersenrood met brede witte rand. Zwart fruit (zwarte kers, bessen), bloed en mineraal. Wat groen (paprika), kruiden (nootmuskaat en peper) en droog hout. Aanzet met zuren en kersensap. Ac +, Alc -, Tan - RS - Eerder lichte structuur, mist zelfs wat materie. Tannines nagenoeg onmerkbaar, geven enkel wat bittere toets in tweede deel. Afdronk med tot kort, met rood fruit (rode bessen) en wat garriguekruiden. Niet overtuigend. Te jong?

2012 vintage

Nice Syrah. Youthful, medium bodied, a little smoke, understated elegance. Nice wine.

2012 vintage

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JL Chave Selection, Crozes-Hermitage, Silene

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