2023 Domaine Jean Louis Chave, Saint-Joseph

The Chave family farms a network of old hillside parcels across Saint-Joseph, many on steep, terraced slopes above the Rhône that had been abandoned and later replanted. These sites sit on decomposed granite, the key soil of the northern Rhône, and give Syrah its structure and savory edge.

The wine is a blend of fruit from both northern and southern sectors of the appellation, fermented with native yeasts and aged about 18 months in large neutral oak. Yields are kept low, and everything is harvested by hand from these hard-to-work slopes.

2023 leans into ripeness, but the sites keep the wine grounded—dark fruit, pepper, olive, and smoke, with the firm, granite-driven structure that defines Saint-Joseph.