2000 Hermitage Rouge, Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, Rhône

Mint, blood, blackberry. A library book scent too. Has the reverence, the ethos and the greatness of the best-maturing wines – and the balance is just now coming into harmony. Dense potent, heavy, wonderful.

Drink 2010 - 2040

Saturated ruby. Superripe aromas of blackberry, blueberry, clove, minerals and black liquorice. Very ripe but precise and penetrating. At once lush and powerful; seamless but with terrific thrust. Black fruit, flint, spice and dark chocolate flavours offer considerable density and verve. Finishes with substantial noble tannins that arrive very late. Has all the elements for longevity. Give this 10 to 12 years before pulling the cork. This comes across as a bit denser than the young 2001 but not finer. The Chaves clearly did a superb job of harvesting in 2000.

Along with the single vineyard offerings from Michel Chapoutier, Chave’s 2000 Hermitage is a candidate for this appellation’s “wine of the vintage.” A dense ruby/purple color is accompanied by sumptuous aromas of licorice, blackberries, currants, spice box, and earth. Deep, full-bodied, and rich, with moderately high tannin, it is atypical for the vintage given its structure and density two characteristics most 2000 northern Rhones lack). It is a brilliant achievement in a challenging year.

Drink 2007 - 2035

More forward, open and textured, the 2000 Hermitage is an almost promiscuous effort that's just hard to resist. According to Jean-Louis, this wine has never shut down and has always delivered plenty of pleasure. It has classic cassis and blackberry fruit, bacon fat, violets and herbs to go with a full-bodied, layered and seamless, if not voluptuous, style on the palate. I'd line bottles up for drinking over the coming couple of years, but it should hold nicely for upward of a decade.

Drink 2014 - 2024