Producer | Jean Paul Corinne & Loic Jamet |
Country | France |
Region | Rhone |
Varietal | Syrah |
Vintage | 2020 |
Sku | 5833 |
Size | 750ml |
Deep ruby. Fresh blackberry cherry and violet scents along with suggestions of olive and bacon fat and black pepper. Offers appealingly sweet black and blue fruit flavors that pick up spiciness and smokiness with air. Round even tannins lend gentle grip to a long spice-tinged finish that strongly echoes the dark fruit note. - By Josh Raynolds on December 2022 Without question the hottest ticket in Côte-Rôtie over the last few years has been Domaine Jean-Paul Corinne & Loïc Jamet?s wines. Prices are going through the roof on the secondary market especially at auction. The Jamets carry no blame for that aside from the fact that they have been making some of the best wines in France for some time now which naturally has drawn plenty of attention. Corinne and Jean-Paul Jamet?s son Loïc is steadily assuming a more important day-to-day role here both in the vines and cellar. Burgundy-educated Loïc Jamet will soon find his own voice with the wines. In the meantime nothing has changed in the style of the wines which in 2018 2019 and 2020 are among the best bottlings in the region. Assuming they can be found anywhere close to their opening prices (good luck) the entry-level non-Côte-Rôtie wines deliver outstanding value compared to their big brothers and give quite a good glimpse at the domaine?s style.
Not yet bottled the 2020 Côtes Du Rhône is a beautiful introduction into the style of this reference point estate offering medium-bodied aromas and flavors of darker berries smoked game and pepper which are all textbook aromas and flavors from the estate. It?s beautiful already and will drink nicely right out of the gate yet this can also evolve for over a decade if you happen to forget a bottle in the cellar.
vThe 2020 Cotes du Rhone?100% Syrah from parts of Ampuis not included in Côte Rôtie?was tasted from tank prior to bottling. All destemmed it's less floral and charming than the IGP Syrah but boasts slightly dark-toned fruit with notes of black raspberries and hints of asphalt. Medium to full-bodied it's ripe silky and long on the finish. Jean-Paul Jamet and I were joined by his son Loic for a couple of hours of barrel tasting in the deep cellars under the old family winery which Jean-Paul retained when he split with his brother in 2013. Tasting here is a wonderful lesson in the various climats of Côte Rôtie as many of the parcels are kept separate in barrel until blending and bottling. In 2018 Jamet made a separate bottling of La Landonne and that seems likely (but not definite) to continue going forward. The 2019 La Landonne was in a small tank separate from the main cuvée when I visited with a final decision still pending. Jean-Paul summed up the recent vintages as follows: "In 2018 you tasted the vintage more than the terroir; 2020 shows more terroir." He continued "2019 is more classic Côte Rôtie. Une belle expression du Syrah du Nord." As the prices for the Côte Rôtie have crept up Jamet has maintained or even improved the quality of the IGP and Côtes du Rhône offerings so that consumers can continue to enjoy the house style which tends to emphasize delicate herbal and floral nuances set against ripe fruit and silky textures. Savvy consumers know not to overlook the excellent white wines here which include a Côtes du Rhône and a Condrieu. Loic even drew some parallels between the philosophies underlying the whites and reds. "I don't think we want to avoid bitterness because it can give another kind of tension. It's a little like the vegetal [notes] in the reds; a little is good."
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