2016 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune

Can a 97-point wine be considered a disappointment? Jamet's 2016 Cote Rotie Cote Brune has never looked better than the first summer after the harvest. Since then, it has seemed less exuberant every time I've tried it. It's full-bodied and plush, with plum and roasted-meat nuances, and there are hints of mocha and black olives on the long, silky finish. It delivers oodles of pleasure, faithfully reflects its origins and by any other standard is a super wine, but it falls short of the perfection I initially hoped for.

Inky ruby. An assertively perfumed bouquet evokes fresh black/blue fruits, star anise, olive, potpourri and licorice. A smoky mineral accent builds steadily in the glass. Sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering vibrant, spice-laced dark berry liqueur, smoky bacon and floral pastille flavors that are firmed by a core of juicy acidity. Clings with superb tenacity on the youthfully tannic finish, leaving behind sappy blue fruit, floral and mineral notes.

As normal, the 2016 Côte Rôtie Côte Brune is like the classic Côte Rôtie only slightly more dark fruited and concentrated, and yet also more seamless and elegant, with Jean-Paul always describing this cuvée as more feminine (I’m not sure I agree with him on that point). It has fabulous density in its assorted dark fruits, olive tapenade, bacon fat, and smoked earth aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, seamless, pure, and yet beautifully concentrated, it’s another incredible, classic 2016 that will benefit from short-term cellaring and age gracefully. One of the greatest estates for Syrah in the world is unquestionably that of Jean-Paul and Corinne Jamet, who have a tiny cellar located above the town of Ampuis, in the heart of Côte Rôtie. Despite being a bastion of classic Côte Rôtie, Jean-Paul is far from dogmatic, and his cellar is clean and efficient, and the singular nature of these wines comes more from the complex terroirs of the estate than any winemaking technique or cellar influence. The wines are not destemmed and aged in roughly 20% new demi-muids and are bottled unfined and unfiltered. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, both 2016 and 2017 are terrific, with the nod going to the 2017s. Jean-Paul finds the 2017s almost too much at this point, which is exactly how he felt about his 1991s in barrel, and those wines are some of the greatest Syrahs ever made. I’ll most likely review the 2017s from barrel again next year, but don’t miss a chance to buy what are destined to become legendary wines. In contrast, the 2016s are more elegant and classical Jamet, with more cool-climate aromatics and seamless, concentrated profiles on the palate. These are pure, classic Jamet Côte Rôtie that will benefit from short-term cellaring and drink well for 2+ decades. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to taste the 2015s from bottle, but I’ll do my best to source those locally.