2016 Cotes du Rhone

I loved the 2016 Côtes du Rhône Syrah and it’s a baby Côte Rôtie. Sweet black fruits, incense, peppery herbs, and bacon fat notes all emerge from this elegant, rounded, incredibly classic Northern Rhône Syrah that I’d be thrilled to drink over the coming 4-5 years. 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.