Domaine Jean Louis Chave, Hermitage

Domaine Jean Louis Chave, HermitageI had the opportunity to retaste the wonderful 2015 Hermitage and have taken this opportunity to up my rating of it a couple of points, more in line with how I thought it would turn out from barrel than when I first tasted it from bottle last year. Yes, it's closed up pretty tight, but the potential is clearly enormous, with pungent, peppery aromas accenting espresso, black olive and blackberries. Full bodied, dense and supremely concentrated, with a

It has a fresh bouquet with honeysuckle and yellow flower aromas

On a final note

The most tannic of the "big three" bottlings this year

2-3 decades are needed for this to really come around

but it is among the most pleasurable wine in this tasting

Underneath all of that plush fruit is a stony core of structure and myriad spicy complexities that should sustain it for decades to come

more volume and it's quite open and expressive

Elegant and restrained in style

It will probably flesh out further with more bottle age

pure bouquet with blackberry

with flavors of apple

with cedar