2011 Domaine Jean Louis Chave, Saint-Joseph 1x750ml

Vinous 92

Inky ruby. Spicy blackberry and blueberry scents are complicated by smoky minerals and candied violet. Elegant, focused and penetrating, offering floral black and blue fruit flavors and a suave, silky texture. The long, expansive finish repeats the floral and spice notes and features velvety, slow-building tannins. This wine can stand up to many wines from Hermitage from this vintage and is a fantastic value, relatively speaking. [Josh Raynolds, 01/03/2014]

Robert Parker 93

Tasted out of bottle and a smoking St.-Joseph that savvy readers need to seek out, the 2011 St.-Joseph (which was just bottled prior to this tasting) offers gorgeous richness and depth, especially in the vintage. Black currants, charcoal, mineral, bouquet garni and ample background meatiness all emerge from the glass, and this medium to full-bodied beauty has brilliant purity of fruit, a great texture and fine tannin that should allow it to evolve gracefully. It’s a fantastic value that should not be missed! [Jeb Dunnuck, 12/01/2013]