Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Jean-Paul Jamet said '2019 gave wines in the style that I like to make'. A step up from the 2018 vintage, the 2019 is more vibrant and intense. A blend of 25 parcels, amounting to 17ha, almost exclusively on schist soils. No destemming. A tasting of nine different barrels across a variety of lieux-dits suggest that the 2019 Côte-Rôtie is very special indeed. This is vibrant and intense, but not as sunny as the 2018 in style - sugars and phenolics progressed at the same gradual rate in 2019, making for a more harmonious and balanced wine. You feel the hot vintage in the wine, but it's represented more as power and intensity than hot alcohol. Vivid and highly impressive.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Schedule to be bottled shortly after my visit, the 2019 Côte Rôtie has gorgeous, floral nuances that give way to more peppery, meaty, gamey notes that are the hallmark of this wonderful estate. Medium to full-bodied, it has considerable elegance and finesse on the palate (Jean-Paul compares this to his 2001 and 2007), silky tannins, and a beautiful finish. It’s going to have some up-front appeal as well as a broad drink window.
Barrel Sample: 95-98 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I tasted the final blend of the 2019 Cote Rotie from tank, where it was awaiting bottling. It retains the essential elegance and complexity that typifies Jamet's Cote Rotie despite the warm summer; floral nuances combine with hints of wood ash and purple raspberries on the nose, while the medium-bodied palate is velvety in texture and the flavors linger on the finish. It strikes me as being a touch less impressive than other recent vintages, but perhaps it will bounce back after bottling.
Barrel Sample: 92-94
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The cultivation of vines here began with Greek settlers who arrived in 600 BC. Its proximity to Vienne was important then and also when that city became a Roman settlement but its situation, far from the negociants of Tain, led to its decline in more modern history. However the 1990s brought with it a revival fueled by one producer, Marcel Guigal, who believed in the zone’s potential. He, along with the critic, Robert Parker, are said to be responsible for the zone’s later 20th century renaissance.
Where the Rhone River turns, there is a build up of schist rock and a remarkable angle that produces slopes to maximize the rays of the sun. Cote Rotie remains one of the steepest in viticultural France. Its varied slopes have two designations. Some are dedicated as Côte Blonde and others as Côte Brune. Syrahs coming from Côte Blonde are lighter, more floral, and ready for earlier consumption—they can also include up to 20% of the highly scented Viognier. Those from Côte Brune are more sturdy, age-worthy and are typically nearly 100% Syrah. Either way, a Cote Rotie is going to have a particularly haunting and savory perfume, expressing a more feminine side of the northern Rhone.