Domaine Yann Chave, in the commune Mercurol, spans 18 hectares in the Crozes-Hermitage and Hermitage appellations. Yann Chave’s parents were keen for him to move away from his agricultural background. In 1996 however, after many years of study, he abandoned his career in financial auditing to return to the family domain and fulfil his passion for wine making. Having suffered poisoning from an insecticide he was using to treat his vines he started looking for alternative solutions and began practising organic viticulture in the early 2000s. The property was certified organic in 2007. Wines from this domain are of a very high quality, with plenty of character. Cuvées from his single-hectare plot on the iconic Colline de l’Hermitage are a particularly fine interpretation of the terroir.

Hermitage accounts for just 1.2 ha of the estate. These 25-year-old vines are located in Beaume and Péléat, on loess soil with a south-westerly exposure. The vinification process differs from Crozes-Hermitage by its longer vatting period (3 to 4 weeks). It is carried out as gently as possible, with temperatures not exceeding 28°C. After de-vatting, the wines are stored in new and one-use demi-muid barrels, where they undergo malolactic fermentation. Elevage in these containers lasts for one year, which is appropriate in the case of Syrah as the wine is not excessively woody. After this phase of élevage, the wines remain in vats for six months before being naturally decanted prior to bottling.