I can assure your eyes are not playing tricks right now—this is indeed Jamet, a surname that drives collectors certifiably mad and turns onlookers green with envy. The mere mention of it provokes an awed response from Côte-Rôtie lovers, and really anyone who goes to great lengths to obtain highly collectible, aristocratic French wine. In other words, there’s no disputing Jamet has become a category-defining name, as synonymous with greatness as Chave in Hermitage, Lafite-Rothschild in Pauillac, or Giacomo Conterno in Barolo. However, we do have an ace up our sleeve today, one that will save you considerable amounts of money because this isn’t exactly the Jamet label you may have been expecting.
This jaw-dropping and aromatically explosive Côte-Rôtie comes from Jean-Luc Jamet, one of the two brothers who ran the venerable Domaine Jamet for more than 20 years. Today’s new label was created when the family’s vineyard holdings were divided with his brother Jean-Paul a few years back, and we were lucky to obtain a microscopic allocation. This highly allocated 2015 Côte-Rôtie “Terrasses” is the third release under Domaine Jean-Luc Jamet and, at half the price, could very well be the greater purchase when considering the entire package. Given the pedigree here, this is an absolute must for those eager to “get in on the ground floor” before inevitable fame and chatter rockets this into the untouchable ether. It’s certainly the best I’ve tasted from Jean-Luc which, accordingly, puts it at the vertiginous peak of Côte-Rôtie greatness—simply, one of the finest price-to-quality reds one can possibly stash in their cellar.
In 2013, there was a rather dramatic change that occurred within the Jamet family. After decades of working side-by-side in the family winery, which sits perched at the top of the Côte-Rôtie hill above the anchor village of Ampuis, Jean-Luc and Jean-Paul Jamet decided to go their separate ways—without actually going anywhere: The brothers created two wineries separated by a well-placed concrete wall and split up the vineyards. Having meticulously assembled an enviable, and some would say unrivaled, assortment of vineyards throughout Côte-Rôtie, the Jamets have become the ultimate name in collectible, age-worthy, top-of-the-line reds. Luckily for us, Jean-Luc’s third vintage under his own label is a certifiable instant classic at a much, much friendlier price, due in part to Jean-Paul getting the more recognizable label during the split.
Jean-Luc’s Côte-Rôtie is loaded with all of the high-toned nobility and depth of flavor you expect from this world-class appellation because he owns mature raw material in the region’s best lieux-dits (named vineyard parcels): Lancement, Bonnivières, Chavaroche, Mornachon, Côte Baudin, La Landonne, Moutonnes, Les Rochains, Fongeant—essentially, an enviable collection of Premier and Grand Cru Syrah. Côte-Rôtie fanatics will recognize many of these names, and will further notice that these parcels extend across both the “Côte Brune” (“brown slope,” where the darker soils have more schist and iron) and the “Côte Blonde” (where soils are more sandy and granitic, with a lighter shade). Although “Lancement,” a prime Côte Blonde parcel, is a major component of Jean-Luc’s Côte-Rôtie, his bottling is ultimately a classic cuvée, incorporating fruit from both soil types.
His approach is not especially distinct from his brother’s, nor his father’s—they both learned from their father, Joseph, and worked together for decades. This is ultra-classic, genuinely profound northern Rhône Syrah at the absolute pinnacle of its expression: aromatic, mineral, textured, and profound. Jean-Luc incorporates some grape stems in his fermentations, depending on the maturity of the stems at harvest; in 2015, about 65% of the grapes were de-stemmed, lending the wine a well-calibrated mix of saturated fruit and earthy, stem-derived “grip.” Vinification is carried out with naturally occurring wild yeasts and a battery of variously sized barrels, only a quarter new, are used: 228-liter Burgundy barrels, 300-liter barrels, and 500-liter “puncheons,” each with their own distinct nuances. After roughly one year of aging, the final wines are blended and bottled without any fining or filtration.
The impeccable lineage and earth-shattering profundity of Jean-Luc’s 2015 “Terrasses” is evident from the first sip. When French Syrah is “on” like this, it’s awfully hard for any combination of wine/region/producer to beat its combination of ethereal aromatics and earthy depth. In the glass, the wine reveals a dense, dark purple/black that moves to a vibrant ruby at the rim. After a minimum two-hour decant, a massive outpouring of hearty blue and black fruits emerge in the form of boysenberry, huckleberry, Damson plum, black cherry, cassis, and black raspberry alongside a formidable array of spice and savory earth. That cacophony of savor and spice—roasted meat, iron, violets, black pepper, olive tapenade, leather, exotic spices—carries through to the full-bodied and sublimely structured palate. This is one of those wines that seems almost physically impossible: how can a red be so profoundly deep/complex and simultaneously fresh? Don’t spend too much time thinking about it, just savor it slowly—both now and over the next two decades as it continues evolving. Despite its greatness right now, I think this wine will be an unbeatable tour de force between its 10th and 15th birthday so do your best to preserve a couple. Cheers!
