The estate's adventure began in 1970, when Nicole and Bernard Chave acquired 4 hectares of land combining orchards and vineyards, in Mercurol, in the heart of the northern Rhône Valley. At the time, nothing was written yet. It is above all a family project, marked by polyculture, where apricot, peach and cherry orchards rub shoulders with the first vines.
Born after the creation of the estate, Yann grew up in the heart of the family farm, immersed in the rhythm of the seasons and agricultural work from childhood.
In the 1980s, the Rhone corridor lived at the pace of orchards, which became one of the major areas for the production of cherries, peaches and apricots.
The development of apricots, which was booming at the time, accompanied the expansion of the farm.
Over the years, the vineyard was structured. New plots completed the farm, and the estate took shape with the first vinifications by Bernard and Nicole in 1973. For the following five years, the family became a cooperative at the Tain winery, before making the choice to create their own cellar and vinify again at the estate.
After several years spent in Paris in the finance sector, Yann chose to return to family land.
Faced with the complexity of managing orchards and vineyards simultaneously, he made the choice to devote himself fully to the vine, convinced that a single crop makes it possible to achieve all its precision and quality.
In 1996, Yann officially returned to the estate. Two years later, in 1998, he created the Le Rouvre cuvée, by perceiving the potential of old vines located in the Chassis sector of the Crozes-Hermitage AOP.
This plot then marks a new stage in the history of the estate, with the affirmation of a more precise work, guided by the reading of the places.
Very involved in the life of appellations, Yann works to bring identities to life, through committed viticulture and local wines.
In 2024, Daphné joined the estate after a career in France and internationally, marked by experiences in biodynamics in Crozes-Hermitage and Stellenbosch, then by vinifications in Burgundy, Australia, Australia, Spain and Argentina.
She was followed by Gauthier in 2026, after a BTS in viticulture-oenology and several experiences in Burgundy, New Zealand, Argentina and Switzerland, in particular with Marie-Thérèse Chappaz.
A new generation then settles in the continuity of the work undertaken. Nourished by these mixed perspectives, the identity of the estate is gradually evolving towards finer, more slender wines, favoring elegance and extractions by infusion, while remaining faithful to the expression of the terroirs.
At the dawn of this new family stage, a new cuvée was born: the red Saint-Joseph, from the granite hillsides overlooking Tournon-sur-Rhône. It naturally complements the range and affirms the domain's anchoring in the terroirs of the northern Rhône.
Today, Domaine Yann Chave extends over the Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Hermitage appellations.