Domaine Jamet Cote Rotie 2020
(Northern Rhone, France) - [DM 97] [VM 97] [JD 95-97] [WS 96]

About the Domaine:
Jean-Paul Jamet began his career in the vineyards of Côte Rôtie in 1976 at the age of 16, working with his father, Joseph, who bottled his first wine that year. With the 2016 vintage, Jean-Paul celebrated his 40th year growing and vinifying Côte Rôtie. His experience with his enviable collection of sixteen (soon to be nineteen) lieux-dits spread across the best sites of the appellation has given him deep knowledge of how to unlock the greatest expression of Côte Rôtie from its wide spectrum of terroirs. This savoir-faire makes Jamet the modern day master of the appellation.

The Domaine Jamet lies on a plateau, known as "Le Vallin", with a fabulous view where Mont Blanc and the Alps can be seen in good weather. Entering the storehouse, nature and simplicity seem to be the Jamet family's key words, focused on the artisanal nature of the place. This is where Jean-Paul, his wife Corinne and, more recently their elder son Loïc cultivate vines and wines with a passion.

About this Wine:
For this wine, Jean-Paul Jamet aims for more immediate pleasure from the fruit while preserving its ageing potential.

• Côte Rôtie is 90% whole-cluster, opposite of their IGP Syrah
• All parcels are vinified and aged separately, with no racking
• Aged 22 months in barrel, mostly demi-muid and some barrique, before blending
• Final blend includes sixteen lieux-dits farmed by the domaine: Gerine, Lesardes, Fongeant, Chavaroche, Côte Bodin, Bonnivières, Le Plomb, Le Truchet, Les Moutonnes, La Landonne, Côte Blonde, Côte Rozier, Leyat, Côte Brune, Tartaras, and Rochins

Ratings & Reviews

97 Points - Decanter Magazine: 
"A combination of separate lieux-dits which show a classic, fresh and focused vintage, with each component reflecting its origins with great clarity. It's an aromatic style, with slight tannins and fairly low but balanced acidity. All whole-bunch fermented, matured mostly in old demi-muids." - Matt Walls (Sep 2022)

97 Points - Vinous Media:
"Opaque ruby. Vibrant blackberry, cherry, incense, Moroccan spice, potpourri and smoky mineral qualities on the expansive, seductively perfumed nose. Offers vibrant black and blue fruit, spicecake, olive and floral pastille flavors that show bright details and energetic mineral lift. The floral and spice notes recur strongly on the youthfully gripping finish, which features mounting tannins and lingering smokiness." - Josh Raynolds (Dec 2022)

96 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Gorgeous and captivating, with heavy salty energy and simmering power. Stunning in both scale and range, offering a meaty, smoky core of red berry, bitter cherry and earth flavors held up by bolts of iron. Shows a supple feel on the palate, which exudes serious richness and depth through the lavender-kissed finish, revealing wafts of grilled mesquite smoke. This is Côte-Rôtie at its finest. Best from 2025 through 2040." —K.B (12/23)

95-97 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2020 Côte Rôtie should be brilliant, and I was able to taste multiple barrels. This vintage was not destemmed and Jean-Paul isn’t dogmatic with stems, judging each vintage on its own and adjusting the amount of stems accordingly. The 2020 shows a ripe yet pure style across the board, with most samples being medium to full-bodied and showing plenty of oomph and structure. The stems stand out in a few of the samples, and the wines reminded me slightly of 2010. This is a powerful, structured vintage at Jamet, and readers will love to have these their cellars." (Feb 2022)

93-95 Points - Wine Advocate:
"I have scribbles on seven different components of the 2020 Cote Rotie in my notebook, and that is just a fraction of what lies resting in the deep Jamet cellar. To generalize and predict what wizardry Jean-Paul Jamet will conjure out of bottle is a bit of a fool's errand, but overall, I found the 2020 samples to show ripe, dark-fruit flavors balanced by graceful aromatics. Generally, the wines are medium to full-bodied, with supple, silky tannins and good freshness." - Joe Czerwinski (Jan 2022)