A Cote Rotie just hitting its early sweet spot for drinking
Are you ever surprised by how time flies? 2019 feels like only yesterday, especially in wine terms, yet somehow the wines have already got half a decade on the clock!
During a recent break away with my family I was leafing through a wine list featuring lots of recent vintages when I happened across a 2019 Cote Rotie. We were in the Rhone Valley, it was pretty hot, and I didn’t fancy tackling a blockbuster 2022 Chateauneuf-du-Pape so the 5 year old Syrah caught my eye. As I said, 2019 feels very recent in wine terms so it was a revelation how well this Cote Rotie was drinking.
Of course, Cote Rotie is known for being more supple and approachable younger than its cousins from Hermitage or Cornas, but this was a timely reminder just how good 2019s can be already. Opened and splashed into a big decanter whilst we enjoyed an aperitif, our wine showed a winning combination of vibrant primary fruit and more complex scents and flavours of new leather, meat, smoke and musk.
On my return I was thrilled to see a small stack of Jean-Luc Jamet’s Cote Rotie Les Terrasses from this vintage on Vinum’s list.
Domaine Jean-Luc Jamet is not an estate with a long history but this is a wine of considerable perdigree, from a fine vintage, that is now cresting an early plateau for current drinking. Expressive, pure and elegant, this is Cote Rotie showing more in common with red Burgundy than it shares with the blockbuster style favoured by Guigal and has an impressive 96/100 from Jeb Dunnuck.
Jean-Luc’s career began at his family’s celebrated Cote Rotie estate and it is only a wall that separates his property from the domaine that his brother still runs. It was Jean-Luc’s role to look after the family vineyards and he took his share of the vines – including the plot that today produces Les Terrasses – when he started out on his own.
Not a fan of oak in his Syrah, Jean-Luc uses only older barrels but was forced to buy new casks when he first created the domaine because he refused to work with another winemakers cast-offs! As a result, some of the early vintages of Les Terrasses show an uncomfortably marked oak element. However, by 2019 the barrels were a good 5 years old and no longer left such an imprint on the wine, their influence diminishing with each passing vintage.
Jean-Luc Jamet’s Les Terrasses is a wine we tip for future Cote Rotie greatness as collectors catch on to the pedigree and quality of this estate. Already delicious, do let us know if you would like to secure some of our 2019 and get the inside track on this exciting producer.
Cheers,
Matthew Hemming MW
The Offer:
Offered subject to remaining unsold. Immediately available from our Singapore cellars.
Domaine Jean-Luc Jamet
2019 Cote Rotie, Les Terrasses
SGD $570 ($621.30 inc GST) per case (6*75cl OC) – 18 cases available
Has a multi-faceted scent with musk, flowers, leather, damsons and meat. Fresh, lifted and expressive. Palate is light on its feet yet intense with fragrance. Lithe, sweet, fruit is overlaid with spices, pepper and savoury characters. Elegant, complex and effortless, it builds and builds on the finish.
95+/100 – Matthew Hemming MW
The star of the show is the 2019 Côte Rôtie Terrasses, which can thought of as a hypothetical mix of the 2017 and 2018, with perhaps a nod to the 2017. Both red and black fruits, peppery herbs, dried flowers, graphite, and a beautiful sense of minerality define the bulk of the aromatics, and it’s medium to full-bodied on the palate, with fine, building tannins, terrific overall balance, and a great finish. From a vintage that produced ripe, tannic wines, this stays balanced and pure and is loaded with potential.
96/100 – Jeb Dunnuck
Terms & Conditions
Offer ends on Monday 22nd July 2024 l No further discount l Immediate payment required l Delivery fees ($32.72) waived for purchases above $500 before GST excluding airports | Cancellation of orders not allowed l Orders to be collected/delivered within 3 months upon stock availability l Offered Ex-Singapore & subject to remaining unsold