Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, Hermitage Rouge, 1999 SO032425 Pouillon Vodka doesn’t usually come with

Vodka doesn’t usually come with a backstory

There’s no oak heaviness—just clean fruit

Jean-François Régnier took over at age 20 from his father

and crushed stone

and this bottling comes from old-vine plots in the famed hamlet of Chavignol

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, Hermitage Rouge, 1999 SO032425 Pouillon Vodka doesn’t usually come withThe 1999 vintage is widely regarded as the first of the great modern Northern Rhne vintagesthe year everything went right. For a family that has made Hermitage since 1481, that's saying something. Jean Louis Chave's 1999 is pure class: mineral drenched red and blackcurrant, smoked meat, camphor, crushed rock, and peppery herbs, with medium to full body and a seamlessly constructed palate. Ripe, well founded tannins carry delicious fullness and