2022 Domaine Jean Louis Chave, Saint-Joseph

Jean-Louis Chave’s Saint-Joseph represents a rigorous reclamation of the appellation’s historic granite heart, focusing on the steep, ancestral terraces of Mauves and Lemps. The methodology centers on manual hillside farming and a traditional cellar regimen of fermentation in open-top wood vats followed by maturation in neutral demi-muids to prioritize site expression over oak influence. In the 2022 vintage, the extreme solar pressure was mitigated by these high-altitude granite soils, which preserved essential acidity and imparted a characteristic saline tension to the wine's dense, muscular frame. The resulting Syrah is defined by its structural gravity, featuring ripe, fine-grained tannins and a deep-seated mineral core that reflects the physiological ripeness of the warm growing season. This 2022 iteration achieves a precise balance of mid-palate weight and the persistent verticality inherent to Chave's primary-rock sites.