First off, yes it’s that Jamet, one of the elite producers of Cote Rotie whose bottlings sell for $200 and up if you are lucky enough to come across it at all. It was a revered house favorite back at the old location but has become more scarce as time has passed. As to the Cotes du Rhone, we never got a sniff of this from the U.S. importer but consistently ran across it when we were traveling n France. We kept our eyes open for an opportunity and jumped when a small lot popped up on an offer sheet.
Since we hadn’t worked with this before, we suspect a lot of you haven’t seen it either. We thought a little explanation was in order because, even with an iconic name on the label, people might want to know why something labeled Cotes du Rhone would sell for $40. Our response is that this Cotes du Rhone tastes like a great Cote Rotie from the perspective of terroir.
Stick your nose in the glass and there are abundant elements of the classic Cote Rotie profile…blackberry, red plum, granite like minerality, sausage and uncooked meat. You get that same glorious matrix across the palate. The big difference? Size and price. In the glass, this is Cote Rotie in every way except the name.
Sure the ‘big dog’ is a denser, more layered mouthful. But it should be for five times the price! This is a beautiful demonstration of the appellation and the refined, elegant style of the house. It comes from schist filled soils around the town of Ampuis, specifically from the following plots: Lézardes, Cognet, Plomb, Champrond, and Tartaras. The 100% Syrah grapes are destemmed and given a long maceration then put in neutral barrels for 12 months.
Joe Czerwinski, the current and somewhat more conservative scoring editor for Wine Advocate for Rhones, had this to say, “Slightly bigger, richer and riper than the IGP Syrah, the 2017 Cotes du Rhone is medium to full-bodied, creamy and supple, with similar notes of crushed stone, a fumé-like character. But it also has blackberries, black olives and hints of espresso. It finishes silky and long. Jean-Paul Jamet points out that it comes from schist soils identical to Côte Rôtie but from younger vines. Like the IGP, it’s destemmed and aged in old barrels…For folks looking for lower prices and more immediate gratification, don’t overlook Jamet’s…Côte du Rhône offering, which offer a taste of Côte Rôtie without the same outlay of time or money…91 points.”