Hermitage Blanc, J-L Chave 2006

The bottled 2006 Hermitage blanc is remarkably powerful (around 15% natural alcohol), and demonstrates the heights white wine varietals reached in the northern Rhone in 2006. Its sumptuous nose reminds me of a liqueur of white flowers intermixed with notions of truffles, white peaches, honeysuckle, marmalade, and crushed rocks. Dense, full-bodied, and super-powerful as well as flowery, with razor-like focus, this magnificent white Hermitage should drink well for 25-30 years.

Intense, rich and remarkably focused, this offers stunning purity of fruit, such as Jonagold apple and Cavaillon melon, along with enticing heather honey, roasted macadamia nut, orange blossom and dried persimmon notes, all laid over a dense but brilliantly defined palate. The nearly endless finish of beeswax and buttered brioche is absolutely fantastic. Drink now, or hold for a decade. Perhaps the best white produced here to date. Best after 2019.

Tasting through the component parts that will go into the 2006 Hermitage blanc, the Peleat, Rocoules, and l'Ermite, this appears to be another outstanding vintage chez Chave. Generally a blend of 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne, it is fascinating to see how the different sites, such as Peleat (pure finesse, elegance, and minerality), Rocoules (fat, honeysuckle, and loads of glcyerin), and l'Ermite (a combination of power, concentration, and extraordinary laser-like precision and minerality), combine to produce an amazingly rich, concentrated wine that should turn out to be as good as the blockbuster 2005. I don't think the 2006 has the power and density of the 2005, but it's very close. I would drink either one at any time. It should drink well for 20+ years.