Producers of Northern Rhone Flashcards
Jean-Louis Chave was established when and where are they located?
1481 and winery is located in Mauves
Region of production: Hermitage; Saint-Joseph
Summary of Jean Louis Chave
Summary: One of the legendary wine families of France, Domaine Jean-Louis Chave has, since 1481, been passed down from father to son for 16 generations. The family initially grew Saint-Joseph wines before phylloxera wiped out their vineyards on the hillsides above the domaine at Mauves. A wise ancestor chose to purchase land on the hill of Hermitage and rebuild the domaine there. Now widely considered the greatest grower on the hill, Chave makes world-class white and red Hermitage with exceptional ageability. One of the keys to the Chaves’ success is their ability to blend across multiple climats to create the best possible wine in any given year. To maintain this enviable track record, they do not produce single parcel “reserve” wines, believing that the blended wine is the best expression of the terroir of Hermitage. However, in top vintages they do produce 200 cases of a red, barrel-selection “Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin” that is as expensive as it is rare.
Who took over Jean Louis Chave in 1970 and led it to fame? Also, who is in charge of the domaine today?
Gérard Chave took over the domaine in 1970 and brought it to worldwide fame; his son Jean-Louis Chave is now in charge with a CV that includes studies in the United States. Jean-Louis has also built up the family’s négociant business, J.L. Chave Selection, presenting a more affordable opportunity to experience the family’s winemaking skills as their domaine wines have become increasingly rare and expensive.
What climats does Jean Louis Chave own in Hermitage
Total of 13.9 ha in Hermitage
Les Bessards: Syrah; soil is rocky granite
l’Hermite: Syrah on granite soils; Roussanne on loess; Marsanne on clay-lime
Péléat: Syrah on alluvial stones, silex and clay soils; Marsanne, planted in 1910 on sandy granite
Le Méal: Syrah; soil is alluvial granite stones with clay-lime
Rocoules: Marsanne and Roussanne; soil is clay-lime
Maison Blanche: Marsanne; soil is alluvial stones with clay-lime
What climats does Jean Louis Chave own in Saint Joseph?
Saint-Joseph: 5 ha Syrah
Dardouilles Les Oliviers Pichonnier Bachasson: 1.5 ha, planted 1996-2002; soil is hard granite
What climats does Jean Louis Chave own in Crozes Hermitage?
Crozes-Hermitage
Gros des Vignes: 0.9 ha Syrah, planted in 2003-2004; soil is granite sand and loess
Production for Jean Louis Chave
Average Total Production: 5,000 cases
Jean Louis Chave’s Hermitage blanc and rouge are made how?
Hermitage Blanc (80-85% Marsanne, 15-20% Roussanne)
Hermitage Rouge: Les Bessards forms the core of this blend of seven climats
“Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin” (rouge)
“Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin” (rouge): a barrel selection done by Jean Louis Chave just before bottling, produced only in top years (1990, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2009 and 2010 to date) and only if the quality of the regular cuvée is not compromised
Jean Louis Chave’s inaugural Vintage (for top wines): “Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin” in ___; Vin de Paille in ____
Inaugural Vintage (for top wines): “Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin” in 1990; Vin de Paille in 1974
Description of style/vinification method for Jean Louis Chave.
Brief Description of Style / Vinification Techniques: The Chave wines have evolved a bit since Jean-Louis took charge: There is a bit more new oak (10-30% for the reds and up to 33% for the whites—though this has decreased recently), and the wines are cleaner than his father’s. The reds are de-stemmed completely, punched down, fermented in stainless steel and oak vats, then aged in 228-liter barriques for 26 months. The white is whole-cluster pressed and 90% barrel-fermented in up to one-third new oak, then aged for 18 months. All wines are blended in tank prior to bottling. The strength of the domaine lies in the diversity of their holdings across the hill of Hermitage and the family’s mastery of blending, passed down from generation to generation. These factors, combined with their sensitivity to the vintage’s conditions and the classic expression of Hermitage, allow the Chaves to consistently produce some of the finest wines of the appellation.
Domaine Jamet was established when and where are they located?
1976 and Ampuis (Cote Rotie)
Summary of Domaine Jamet
Summary: The Jamet domaine was founded by Joseph Jamet in the 1950s, and with the help of sons Jean-Paul and Jean-Luc, the Jamets began domaine bottling in 1976. The brothers took over the domaine in 1991 and have continually planted new vineyards and expanded the domaine, mostly in the northern sector of the appellation with its schist soils. Jamet firmly believes in the virtues of blending over the production of single-site wines (with one notable exception); the domaine’s Côte-Rôtie is typically a blend of their 25 parcels across 17 lieux-dits. In early 2013 Jean-Luc left the family domaine, reportedly taking two hectares of vineyards with him. However, news to date has been spotty about the split and may be worth following in the coming years.
Vineyard holdings for Domaine Jamet
Vineyard Holdings: 8 ha Côte-Rôtie, 100% Syrah
Côte Brune: 0.48 ha, planted in the 1940s and 1993; soil is schist Côte Blonde: planted in 1943; granite soil Côte Rozier: planted in 1943; soil is schist Lancement: planted in 1989; granite soil La Landonne: planted in 1987; soil is schist La Gerine: 1.3 ha, planted in 2000; soil is schist
Total production for Jamet
Average Total Production: 2,500 cases
Top wines produced by Domaine Jamet
Côte-Rôtie: a blend of all Jamet-owned parcels
Côte-Rôtie “Côte Brune”: a limited cuvée from this 0.48-ha parcel, produced every year
Inaugural vintage for Domaine Jamet
Inaugural Vintage (for top wines): Côte-Rôtie in 1976
Description of style/vinification technique for Domaine Jamet
Brief Description of Style / Vinification Techniques: For many people, Domaine Jamet is THE reference point for classically styled Côte-Rôtie. The grapes are partially de-stemmed according to the vintage— though the decision is not by rote. For example, the warm 2009 vintage was fermented as whole clusters, as was the much cooler 2011, but unique aspects of each vintage led to Jean-Paul’s corresponding decisions. Fermentation is in stainless steel tanks in their refurbished, gravity-flow cellar, and the wines are aged in barrel for 18-22 months (maximum 20% new oak for the Côte-Rôtie; 33% new oak for “Côte Brune”). The wines are neither fined nor filtered at bottling.
Auguste Clape was established when and where are they located?
1907 and Cornas
Summary of Auguste Clape
Summary: The Clape family has a 250-year history working as vignerons, though they were forced to start from scratch in Cornas after relocating from the Languedoc due to the grower strikes of 1906 and 1907. Auguste Clape, who took over in 1949, is widely credited as the first to practice domaine-bottling in Cornas in 1957, using fruit from vineyards planted by his wife’s grandfather. He was joined by his son Pierre-Marie in 1989, who now runs the domaine with his son Olivier. For many people, this is the gold standard domaine in Cornas.
Vineyard holdings for Auguste Clape
Vineyard Holdings:
Cornas: 5.83 ha total
Reynard: 1.2 ha
Tézier: 0.46 ha
La Côte: 0.86 ha, planted in 1954
La Geynale: 0.68 ha
Pied de la Vigne: planted in 1890
La Sabarotte: purchased from Noël Verset upon his retirement
St. Péray: 0.23 ha Marsanne, planted in the 1940s and 1990
Côtes du Rhône: 1 ha Syrah on the plain south of the village; the white vines here were torn out after the 2007 vintage and replanted to Syrah
Top wines produced for Auguste Clape
Top Wines Produced:
Cornas: assemblage from 12 parcels (average vine age 30-60 years) Cornas “Renaissance”: assemblage from 12 parcels (average vine age 12-20 years) Côtes du Rhône: 100% Syrah from vineyards outside the Cornas appellation Le Vin des Amis (Vin de France): declassified Côtes du Rhône; young vines from Cornas plus occasional Cornas press wine
Inaugural vintage for Auguste Clape’s “Renaissance”
“Renaissance” in 1998
Description of style/vinification technique for Auguste Clape
Brief Description of Style / Vinification Techniques: Clape is an example of a traditional approach to winemaking in the Northern Rhône. Red grapes are not de-stemmed, and the wines are punched down by foot and pumped over twice daily. Aging for the Cornas bottlings is 22 months in old 6- and 12-hl foudres. The Côtes du Rhône and Vin des Amis see 12 months in a combination of foudre and cement. The reds are not filtered, but they are fined with egg whites. The white is vinified and aged in stainless steel.
Thierry Allemand was established when and where are they located?
1981 and Cornas
Summary of Thierry Allemand
Summary: The son of a Valence factory worker, Thierry Allemand built his domaine from scratch after dropping out of school and discovering his love of the vine while working with Robert Michel. Thierry bought his first small plot in 1981 and continued to collect small plots here and there, tending his vines on the weekends while spending weekdays chez Michel (he only began working for himself fulltime in the mid-1990s). An inquiring mind, Thierry has continually evolved his winemaking. After starting out with a by-the-book approach, literally “making” his wines by adding yeast, tannin and enological enzymes as well as utilizing mechanical crushing and de-stemming, he abandoned all of these practices after seeking advice from older growers in the area, especially Noël and Louis Verset. He also eliminated racking and reduced the use of sulfur in his wines, believing that these two factors contributed to the perception of Cornas as a rustic, aggressive wine.
Vineyard holdings for Thierry Allemand
Vineyard Holdings:
Cornas: 5 ha total; soil is mostly decomposed granite (gore)
Reynards: planted in 1900 and 1934; acquired from the Versets La Geynale Chaillots: some plots on limestone subsoil Le Tezier: planted in 1960s Le Bois .
Top wines produced by Thierry Allemand
Cornas “Reynard”: a blend of parcels with average vine age over 40 years; usually includes old vines in Chaillots, Reynards, Le Tezier and La Geynale
Cornas “Chaillot”: a blend of parcels with average vine age under 40 years; includes parcels in Chaillots, Le Tezier and Le Bois
Cornas “Sans Souffre”: a bottling with no added sulfur; usually from old vines in Reynards; bears a different label than the other wines and is labeled only “Cornas”
List the inaugural vintage of Thierry Allemand’s wine:
Cornas “Chaillot” and Cornas “Reynard” in_____ (in 1990, 2002 and 2003 the parcels were blended together and one bottling was made)
Cornas “Sans Souffre”: ______
Cornas “Chaillot” and Cornas “Reynard” in 1991 (in 1990, 2002 and 2003 the parcels were blended together and one bottling was made)
Cornas “Sans Souffre”: 1998
