Jamet Côte-Rôtie 2017

97 points Matt Walls (Decanter): "Elegant, perfumed, floral nose. This is generous, fresh and beguilingly complex already. It's dark and brooding but brimming with fruits, spices, flowers, a touch of smoke and graphite with a remarkably mineral, salty finish. Serious, but beautiful. Drinking Window: 2020-2036. (Mar 2020)"

96 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Just bottled, literally, the day before my visit, the 2017 Côte Rôtie nevertheless showed incredibly well, with loads of violets, pepper, game, framboise, and darker fruits. As Côte Rôtie as Côte Rôtie gets, this full-bodied beauty has ultra-fine tannins, intoxicating complexity and nuance, no hard edges, and a great finish. Give it 4-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following 20 years or more. Domaine Jamet is located high up on the upper plateau above Côte Rôtie, around the village of le Vallin, and Jean-Paul and Corinne Jamet have been farming 25 different plots here, spread across 17 lieux-dits, since 1984. The majority of their holdings are located in the more schist-dominated Côte Brune side of Côte Rôtie (Chavaroche and Le Truchet being the largest) yet they also have prime real estate in Lancement and the Côte Blonde. The winemaking here is traditional yet not dogmatic, and the cellars are clean and impeccably kept. While Jean-Paul likes stems, there are plenty of parcels, and vintages, that see varying degrees of destemming and aging occurs mostly in demi-muids, with 15-30% being new. His Côte Rôties are bottled unfined and unfiltered after two years in barrel. Jamet’s wines represent a quintessential Côte Rôtie and possess incredible aromatics as well as a concentrated, structured style on the palate that rewards 5-7 years of bottle age. Top vintages of Jamet’s Côte Rôtie can evolve positively for 25 to 30 years. In addition to the classic cuvée, they also release a tiny production Côte Rôtie Côte Brune in top vintages. This cuvée comes all from the Côte Brune lieu-dit and sees a touch more new wood, but is largely made in the same, classic style. It always has a touch more concentration and structure yet can also show more elegant tannins. Drinking Window: 2024-2044. (Dec 2019)"

96 points Josh Raynolds (Vinous): "Inky, bright-rimmed ruby. Sexy, mineral-accented aromas of ripe black and blue fruits, candied flowers, olive paste and exotic spices show outstanding clarity and lift. Sweet, pliant and energetic on the palate, offering deeply concentrated raspberry, cherry, cassis and floral pastille flavors that show surprising energy for their heft. A smoky mineral nuance drives the extremely long, youthfully tannic finish, which leaves behind a sexy floral note. All whole clusters. Drink: 2025-2035. (Apr 2020)"

93-96 points Joe Czerwinski (Wine Advocate): "The 2017 Cote Rotie was still in separate lots when I visited, yet I came away with remarkably similar impressions from the Gerine (fragrant charming and silky) and le Plomb (taut, intense and structural) as I did last year. A number of other lots will go into the final assemblage (Chavaroche, Fongeant, Lezardes and several more, probably including La Landonne). There's more cracked pepper and violets on the nose of the 2017 than the 2018 and also a touch more crispness and tension on the palate. Drink: 2022-2035. (Dec 2019)"

94 points La Revue du Vin de France: "The [2017] Côte-Rôtie is faithful to the style to which the winemaker has accustomed us: well-ripened fruit, but in no way cooked, floral and graphite nuances mixed with hints of bacon, a dense body. (2021)"

**** John Livingstone Learmonth (The Cradle of The Rhône): "(100% Syrah from 5 hectares notably 0.7 ha on Lancement (1980-1995), 0.6 ha Bonnivières, Chavaroche (0.5 ha early 1980s & 0.3 ha early 2010s), 0.7 ha on Mornachon (1985), also Côte Baudin, La Landonne, Moutonnes (0.11 ha 1945, 0.4 ha early 1980s), Les Rochains, Fongeant, 65% destemmed, 21 day vinification, wild yeasts, twice daily pumping overs, 1 cap punching, aged 20-30% new, 70-80% 1-6 year 60-70% 300-litre, 15-20% 228-litre, 15-20% 500-litre oak casks 18-20 months (up from 10 months), fined, unfiltered, blends done June/July before bottling mid-August, 25,000-26,650 b). Deep red robe; iron, rose petal airs mingle on the nose, which will evolve nicely, is going well now. There is immediate iron with tender floral notes on the palate. It has a fine spine, gains squeeze and gras towards the finish. The tannins can fuse further. It’s genuine. €44.10 export via Thorman Hunt, GB. 2038-40. Nov 2019."