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Going back to 1481, when the first Jean-Louis Chave was gifted a vineyard in St Joseph by the nobleman Farconnet, 25 generations have farmed some of the best parcels in the Northern Rhône. Though now known as perhaps the best producer of Hermitage (and certainly among the best blenders in the world), the family only expanded to this famous hill during the mid-1800s wave of phylloxera that decimated Europe's vineyards.
In the 1970s, when Gerard Chave took over from his father, the domaine rapidly achieved megastar status due to the extraordinary quality of his wines. Gerard's son Jean-Louis (25th of his name) now oversees the estate and has shown an ever expanding dedication to improving the already stunning quality of these rare wines. Jean-Louis Chave regularly dedicates the domaine to intense and exacting projects, the benefits of which will be seen by future generations. Indeed, the estate employs three full time stonemasons just to repair the traditional stone walls dotting the vineyards.
Since the 1990s, Jean-Louis Chave has offered a second label known as 'J.L. Chave Sélection' that provides a glimpse of the reason for the estate's fame at a fraction of the price. Many of these wines are from declassified estate wine and long term farming contracts, and are vinified in the domaine's primary cellar in Mauves.
Farconnet was the name of a nobleman back in the time of JeanLouis Chave’s great grandfather. He was actually the man from whom the great grandfather bought the Bessards parcel.
An aromatic, approachable and 'bon marché' Hermitage for anyone looking for a window on this iconic appellation or wine-making dynasty. Although made from brought-in grapes and bottled under their 'J-L Chave Sélection' label, this wine receives the full Chave level of meticulous quality control.
As opposed to the Chave's Domaine Hermitage, which is exclusively sourced from their own vineyards, the 'Farconnet' (named after a lord who sold the Chave family their first parcel of Hermitage) includes Syrah grapes that Jean-Louis buys in from other lieux-dits - Les Diognières, Les Greffieux, and little Péléat.
