DOMAINE
J.L. CHAVE
Saint-Joseph
“Offerus”
Region:
Appellation: Saint-Joseph
Producer: Jean-Louis
Chave
Annual
Production: 500 cases
“This
is the culmination of several years of discussion and effort. In 1979 Gérard Chave opened my eyes to
the potential of certain Saint-Joseph hillsides by taking me to the top of one,
where I purchased Trollat’s 1978. I have had a
passion for Saint-Joseph ever since.
Whenever Chave and
I got together we would spend a little time lamenting the fact that the
potential we saw was seldom realized. One day he told me that no one ever
tastes the greatest Saint-Josephs because they are produced in small lots by
farmers who don’t make enough to bottle. Chave knows practically everyone in the heart of the appellation, went
to school with them, knows who has the best vineyards, the oldest vines, etc.
But their cuvées go to negociants
who blend with flatland wines.
Great
Syrah going to waste! The idea bugged me. The next time I showed up he and
Jean-Louis had two 1994s for me to taste, two of the most splendid Syrahs of my life. It was like discovering a Clape, a Gentaz or a Chave, but it was Saint-Joseph! If I had known how to say
“We are going to blow people’s minds” in French, I would have said it.
Chave told me that his grandfather long ago
had obtained a negociant license, but the family
never used it. Was I seriously interested in those Saint-Josephs?
Fast
forward to today, all bureaucratic problems solved, I proudly introduce Offerus to the world of fine wine. (The name Offerus is explained on each bottle.) For the 1995, Gérard and Jean-Louis selected twenty barrels from seven of
Saint-Josephs top terroirs, and then one day I
watched them tasting and blending until they had assembled a cuvée quite amazingly superior to any of the separate
lots. Chave
works his own Saint-Joseph vines at Mauves. Offerus
is different. Because of his terroir, his domaine
bottled Saint-Joseph is more of an ultra-delicious quaffer.
Offerus will always be darker, more intense, chewier,
more serious an event. Especially the 1995 which has, as
Clive Coates would say, good grip.
It
is a KLWM worldwide exclusive. I took everything that Chave
bottled. Wouldn’t you?”
- Kermit Lynch, April 1997
|
Appellation: |
Varietal: |
|
Saint-Joseph |
100% Syrah |
KERMIT LYNCH WINE MERCHANT