Blanc*. More advanced than the rest of the whites from the '80s but still broad, exotic, and delicious.
Blanc*. More advanced than the rest of the whites from the '80s but still broad, exotic, and delicious.
Nov 9th, 2014
1985. 40 years young. Gave it an hour to open up before dinner (paired orange ginger glazed duck with pistachio apricot farro). Thankfully my partner is a master of the Durand. There’s very little for me to compare this too - most aged whites are preserved by acid; Chave relies on glycerol here. It gives the wine gravitas but also life and freshness. Pleasant wood veneer/wood shop notes, dried apricots at first (become fresher with time), yellow plum, truffled earth. Salty poached apricots and timelessness. In a perfect world, we’d be sharing this with my dad. Strange & sensational.
1985. 40 years young. Gave it an hour to open up before dinner (paired orange ginger glazed duck with pistachio apricot farro). Thankfully my partner is a master of the Durand. There’s very little for me to compare this too - most aged whites are preserved by acid; Chave relies on glycerol here. It gives the wine gravitas but also life and freshness. Pleasant wood veneer/wood shop notes, dried apricots at first (become fresher with time), yellow plum, truffled earth. Salty poached apricots and timelessness. In a perfect world, we’d be sharing this with my dad. Strange & sensational.
Apr 6th, 2026
Cork taint blurred how good this wine could have been. Still a but of life left in the old fella, weighty and rich with great structure.
Cork taint blurred how good this wine could have been. Still a but of life left in the old fella, weighty and rich with great structure.
Jan 26th, 2017
Rich, viscous, intensely nutty, oily. Excellent showing just shy of perfection. This is the Blanc despite what app says.
Rich, viscous, intensely nutty, oily. Excellent showing just shy of perfection. This is the Blanc despite what app says.
May 30th, 2015
Nutty In a super umami way nose is just siiiiiiixk. Complex. Old. Old. Almost sherry like. Intoxicating. Still has that sick acidic balance after 29 years. Bucket list experience. Off the charts internal aromatics. Still juicy after all this time.
Nutty In a super umami way nose is just siiiiiiixk. Complex. Old. Old. Almost sherry like. Intoxicating. Still has that sick acidic balance after 29 years. Bucket list experience. Off the charts internal aromatics. Still juicy after all this time.
Nov 16th, 2014
Hermitage, Northern Rhône, Rhône, France
