Yann Chave expresses the terroir of Crozes-Hermitage so well with Le Rouvre 2014

Winemaker of Le Rouvre 2014, Yann Chave, is one of the best winemakers in the region. Yann Chave’s wines can be found on the wine lists of Alain Ducasse, Paul Bocuse, Pic, Maison Chabran, and Troisgros, and other fine dining bistros and restaurants around the world. I bought this wine in Lyon, motivated by an article in a local newspaper about a chef’s competition. The winning dish was paired with Le Rouvre 2014.

The nose is elegant and has a beautiful complexity of aromas with lot’s of luscious fruit like ripe, meaty black cherries, blackcurrant, and freshly picked blackberries. Moreover, a flinty, mineral note resembling the smell of wet stone after a summer rain. On the palate full-bodied, rich, yet fresh, with a good acidity. Then the pure taste of dense black fruit, a note of roasted black coffee and licorice, and some spicy grounded pepper. Deep, though pleasant, velvety tannins. Very well balanced Crozes-Hermitage with a remarkably long finish.

Le Rouvre 2014 started its life on the Chassis Terraces, the old clay-limestone Rhône riverbed with its rolled, large, round ‘galet’ stones and more than 50-year-old Syrah vines. Chave strives for the purest possible expression of his terroir in the wines. Meticulous attention to the vines -farmed organically- pays off in the hands of a dedicated, talented winemaker. Yann selects his Syrah plots carefully, and only uses native yeasts during fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The Crozes-Hermitage cuvée Le Rouvre ages in new and one-year-old demi-muids, where also the malolactic fermentation happens.

Le Rouvre 2014 goes well with roasted lamb, roasted duck, a salad with garlic and anchovies, but also creamy cheeses like Brie de Meaux or Chaource.

And no, Yann Chave is not related to JL Chave, in case you might wonder.