2019 Domaine Jamet "Côte-Brune" Côte-Rôtie

Also in tank at the time of my visit, the 2019 Cote Rotie Cote Brune is another legend in the making. Violets, roses, herbal tea, chocolate and red berries all mingle easily on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is concentrated and intense; it's paradoxically also silky and nearly weightless. Imagine a gentle whirlwind of airy flavors pushing into every cranny of the palate with intoxicating motes of flavor, then lingering there for minutes. 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. (JC)

Powerful, smoke- and spice-tinged black/blue fruit, exotic spice, pipe tobacco and violet aromas show superb clarity and building minerality. Deeply concentrated and broad in the mouth, offering alluringly sweet cherry and blackberry liqueur, fruitcake, salty olive and violet pastille flavors plus a hint of allspice. The strikingly long, penetrating finish features strong, minerally cut, an echo of sappy dark fruit and chewy tannins that come in late. (JR)