The 1995 white Hermitage had been assembled and was awaiting bottling. The wine is low in acidity, but fabulously rich, with an extraordinary floral, honeysuckle, peach-like fruit character. With awesome intensity and an unctuous texture, this may be the finest white Hermitage Chave has ever produced. It is powerful and extremely showy at present. Given its equilibrium and overall density, this wine should last 20+ years. Chave said the yields were a minuscule 20 hectoliters per hectare in 1995, versus 30 hectoliters per hectare in 1996 (about one-half the yield of most top white Burgundy producers' Chardonnay vineyards).Chave's white wine always went through full malolactic, but now there is batonage (stirring the lees), as well as more barrel fermentation and a greater percentage of new oak. I have always loved Chave's white Hermitage, and have been buying it consistently since the 1978 vintage. However, I must say that if the 1994 signaled a new level of quality, the 1995 and 1996 continue that, with both vintages producing blockbuster white Hermitages that possess the texture of a great white Burgundy, in addition to extraordinary intensity and richness. Americans have never taken a liking to white Hermitage, but it ages as well as the red, and if you do not drink it during the first 2-3 years after the vintage, it is best to wait for two decades to consume it as it goes through a long, stubborn, dumb period.The notes in this segment are a compilation of tasting through all the white wine cuvees, which had not yet been assembled, as well as the red wine cuvees. Since son Jean-Louis joined father Gerard, there have been subtle refinements in the winemaking program.Importers: Langdon Shiverick, Cleveland, OH; tel. (216) 861-6800 and Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel (510) 524-1524
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