EXTREMELY LIMITED
97 Points Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from tiny yields of 22 hectoliters per hectare, the 2022 Hermitage Blanc is a focused, pure, and chiseled white Hermitage offering riveting stone fruits, spice, and crushed stone, which turn to blanched almond and subtle brioche with air. Medium to full-bodied, focused, and tight on the palate, yet rich and powerful, it has the structure of a red wine and needs plenty of air if drinking any time soon. It will ideally be enjoyed over the coming 4-5 years or after a decade.
97 Points Vinous
Bottled in September 2024, just two months before my visit, the 2022 L'Hermitage Blanc is brilliant. Prominent honeysuckle, lemon zest, ripe peach, cedar, quince and a hint of jasmine burst from the glass. The full-bodied 2022 seamlessly combines elevated flavor concentration with vibrant freshness on the palate, delivering a precise, impressive L'Hermitage Blanc. The refined finish is remarkably long and focused, enhanced by a nuanced phenolic grip.
96 Points Decanter
The plots of Péléat and Rocoules were a little richer than a typical year, with relatively low acidity, while Ermite had a honeysuckle florality and a little more flesh than usual. Rich, dense and mighty, it is the opposite in style to the fine, fresh 2021. Picking started on 23 August in 2022. A tasting of the different plots was instructive, but the wines had been moved from barrel to tank the day before, so the score is a guide only.
95 Points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2022 was the earliest harvest in the estate's history. Jean-Louis Chave harvested the Roucoule and Péléat plots on August 23-24, while Maison Blanche and Ermite were picked on August 28. The 2022 Hermitage Blanc reveals a complex, ripe bouquet of almonds, white flowers, honey and spices mingled with baked orchard fruits. Full-bodied and concentrated, the palate is rich and dense with a suave texture, a multidimensional core of fruit framed by chalky dry extracts and a delicate, phenolic, gastronomic bitterness. Slightly austere at this stage, this gastronomic wine is built for the cellar.
Tasting Notes
Jean-Louis Chave’s Hermitage Blanc isn’t just a white Rhône—it’s the white Rhône. A blend of mostly old-vine Marsanne, with a touch of Roussanne, drawn from legendary parcels like Péléat, Rocoules, and Maison Blanche, this wine is about depth, texture, and time.
The 2022 vintage offers everything you'd want: notes of honeysuckle, quince, roasted nuts, citrus oil, and stone, wrapped in a dense yet lifted frame. It’s opulent without heaviness, structured without sharpness—a wine that can age for decades, but already shows flashes of its brilliance now.
Pair it with lobster, truffle chicken, or aged cheeses—or cellar it and let it evolve into something truly transcendent. This is Chave, and it doesn’t get more iconic than that.
