Reviews & Scores
Bright and very inviting, with a mix of pineapple, quince, mango and white peach flavors giving this a slightly exotic feel, while racy honeysuckle and orange blossom notes harness the finish, which is long and seductive in feel. A gorgeous display of range and vitality.
WS97November 2020
Translucent yellow. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe pear, yellow plum, orange zest, smoky minerals and jasmine, along with a deeper suggestion of honey. Honeysuckle, energetic, sharply delineated citrus, orchard fruit flavors stain the palate and become weightier with aeration. The mineral note expands as the wine opens up and drives an impressively long, chewy finish that features lingering floral, brioche and saffron notes.
VM96May 2020
Cut from the same cloth, the 2017 Hermitage Blanc is stunning stuff, and Chave lovers should unquestionably have bottles of this in the cellar. Bottled in August of this year, its medium gold hue is followed by a mammoth bouquet of quince, flower oil, buttered almonds, and brioche. Every bit as good on the palate, it’s full-bodied, has a stacked mid-palate, flawless balance, and incredible minerality as well as length on the finish. It’s insanely good today, and while this cuvée can shut down, I wonder if this ever will. Life is too short not to drink as much Chave Hermitage Blanc as possible!
JD98December 2019
In the end, I'm unable to definitely say that the 2017 Hermitage Blanc is better than the stupendous 2016. Of course, I sampled it just three days after it was bottled, so I've appended the + to my rating, as there's a possibility the wine may have been affected by that process. It's gently toasty but dominated at this stage by forward melon and pineapple fruit. Full-bodied and incredibly rich yet balanced, it unfolds in waves of flavor and texture, lingering for what seems like minutes on the finish.
WA98+December 2019
Jean-Louis' 2017 white Hermitage is a rich, almost buttered style with considerable fat and an opulent texture, but remains fresh. A tasting of four component parts - Péléat, Rocoules clay, Rocoules limestone and L'Ermite - shows an unusually rich and lush style. The Ermite component does however have a straight, lean, rising floral style to counterbalance the riper, rounder Péléat. Luxurious and cosy rather than focused and dynamic.
DC97October 2018
Tasted as a set of components. Attractive expressive fruits in the peach and dried-pear zone. Lemon citrus with savory aromas of spiced biscuits and river stones too. Powerful stone-fruit flavors, building to ripe dark peaches. The texture runs from chalky to pithy and right through to a more compressed stony finish. Super long, complete and focused. White Hermitage is all about texture and this is a lesson in exactly that.
JS96August 2018