J.L. Chave Cotes du Rhone ''Mon Coeur'' 2018

The Real Deal

It’s not often that we offer a wine under $20 that represents 16 generations of winemaking royalty in the Rhone Valley! The Chave family have been vine growers in the northern Rhone since 1481, committed to the production of the finest Rhone varietals in the world. While their top bottlings are limited and pricey, this wine comes from a more accessible line within their portfolio, Jean-Louis Chave Selections, where the grapes are sourced from various areas in and around Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The blend is roughly 50% Syrah and 50% Grenache. It has a brooding character to its plummy, black cherry-laced fruit, with top notes of violets and raspberries, and a heart of plowed earth and black olives. Ripe and undeniably sumptuous, it is a robust wine that finishes with hints of smoky, singed herbs. Now with a few years of bottle ageing, it is showing the masterful hand of the Rhone’s top winemaking family.