1998 Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin
France
Hermitage
Northern Rhône
Red
Syrah/Shiraz
00
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Since my last visit, the Chaves have installed a state-of-the-art system enabling them to control the temperature of the various rooms of their cellar independently. Other than that, the gloomy cellars beneath their house in Mauves have changed little in the last century or so. The wines, not surprisingly, are as spectacularly fine as ever. As characterized by Jean-Louis Chave, 1999 featured a growing season without climatic shocks, and the steady maturation of the grapes has yielded a wine of great balance. "In 1998, the challenge was to find the glycerol and gras to buffer the tannins, while in '99, because the component wines were much rounder, it was easier to make an assemblage " Jean-Louis noted. Although the quality of the '99 vintage surely merits a special Cuvee Cathelin bottling, the Chaves had not yet made a final determination in November. Given the nature of the vintage, it possible that the most structured, firmly tannic components of '99 juice will be needed to give the overall blend the backbone and grip for long-term ageability. Incidentally, the Chaves will release small quantities of their first Vin de Paille since 1990 after they bottle the '96 sometime in the coming months. Coincidentally, the extraordinary '96, with its honeyed yet utterly vibrant aromas and flavors of orange zest and marmalade, resembles the '90 in style, while the still-fermenting (!) '97, with its gamier, more liqueur-like character and uncanny thickness and sucrosity, more closely resembles the incredible '89.