J.L. Chave Selection Mon Coeur Cotes-du-Rhone 2019

If you’re new to the wine world, you may not know the name Jean-Louis Chave, but if you’ve been around a while, you’d recognize one of the most respected winemakers in the world. Chave’s wines from the Rhône valley have become collectibles and are poured in three-Michelin star restaurants. He’s a master of the Syrah grape, and has one of the most prized terroirs at the family estate in the Hermitage region.

It’s more recently that the Chaves have branched out into making negociant-style (purchased fruit instead of estate) wines, and they are much more accessible and easy to get than their Hermitage cuvées. The JL Chave Selections line is their way of choosing some of their favorite vineyards, stipulating organic farming, and then being able to make the wine with the same uncompromising quality their estate wines are made with.

This Côtes du Rhône has always been a standby for me. It was a wine I could use as a benchmark Rhône blend when blind tasting, I sold it at both my previous gigs at Canlis and McCarthy and Schiering, and I’ve always enjoyed how classic and approachable it is, without sacrificing concentration or quality.