Long considered the king of Hermitage, Jean Louis Chave also operates Jean-Louis Chave Selections, his négociant line which sources grapes from various areas in the Rhone.
The vineyards for Silène are hillside vineyards located in Larnage and Gervans. It is rare for Crozes to come from hillside granitic soil, as most of Crozes is situated on the alluvial valley floor. The granite soil produces a wine with more backbone and structure. The idea behind this Crozes is to balance the fruit of Syrah without compromising the tightness given by the granite. 50% of the Crozes comes from a parcel of young vines planted in 2003 and owned by Domaine Jean Louis Chave.
93/100 Josh Raynolds, Vinous, April 2020 (2018 Vintage)
"Inky ruby. Pungent, mineral-accented black and blue fruit qualities on the nose, along with hints of olive, licorice and peony that build in the glass. Supple and weighty on the palate, offering expansive blackberry and boysenberry flavours that become firmer with air. The floral note comes back strong on the penetrating finish, which shows outstanding persistence and fine-grained, well-knit tannins. 60% of this fruit was sourced from the granitic soils and steep slopes in the northern sector of the appellation and the other 40% came from the south, where the soils are lighter, based mostly on limestone clay and covered in large alluvial stones and smaller river rocks."