1990 Domaine Jean Louis Chave, Hermitage, Ermitage Cathelin 1x750ml

Robert Parker 94

A very intense nose: ripe blackberry and wild strawberry with a note of pain grille developing with aeration. The delineation is “muffled” but the dominance of the new oak. The palate is very concentrated, dense but I have to say, does not really go anywhere. Very good acidity, but there is not lift, no transcendental passage on the mid-palate. Pure, quite sexy in a way, but I definitely prefer the regular 1990. Tasted August 2005. [01/08/2005]

Vinous 98+

Saturated deep ruby-red. Aromas of sweet blackcurrant, black raspberry, minerals and smoked meat; superripe but almost magically fresh. The thickest, sweetest and longest of any of these wines, but developing extremely slowly. Dark berry and mineral flavors coat those hard-to-reach areas of the palate. Great persistence. The Chaves have always played down the influence of new barrels in their Hermitage, but I get a distinct finishing flavor of smoky oak that merely adds to the wine complexity. [Stephen Tanzer, 07/01/1999]