After a lovely, refined 1998 Jamet recently that needed lots of air (thread here), this 1999 was even more awesome, until it clenched down in the third hour…
1999 Jamet Cote Rotie -
Very dark saturated red. Open and generous nose evokes cassis, leather, game, and floral hints. Very concentrated palate brimming with dry extract, but perfectly in balance and no heaviness. Power without weight. Loooong rich minerally finish. The sexy perfume and the complex, powerful, balanced palate just keep me coming back for another sip. My Wine of the Year for 2011, so far.
This wine was flat out amazing for the first 2+ hours after serving, and I gave it my highest rating: Near Perfection. But then the wine seemed to shut down, withdrawing into a shell, becoming overtly acidic and less expressive. Likely just a signal that it needs another year or three of cellaring, but for now I’ll drop the ranking one level: Exceptional+.
Agree. We had this last year in a blind set of rhones and it easily ran the table into the ground. too bad I didn’t really start to buy in earnest until the 2001 vintage.
John, I’ve been buying Jamet in earnest since the 1983 vintage. My favorite is the 1991, but this 1999 may well be as good, in a very different, more powerful profile. Time will tell. I do love the elegance of that 1991.
When the 1999 was released in the U.S. by Bobby Kacher, I managed to miss the fact that it was available. And then it was all gone. I searched the country and could not find a single bottle. So I broadened my search, located some bottles in France, and some in London, and then six of the Cote Brune in eRP Commerce Corner. I probably spent too much… No, it is worth it.
The 1999 Jamet is an absolute beast. I opened one for Jon Rimmerman in November, and while it is at least 10 years from peak it blew our socks off.
1999 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie- France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (11/12/2010)
Oh wow, it would be hard to image much better aromatics for a Côte-Rôtie. Even with just a 45 minute decant this explodes from the glass with bacon, blood, orange zest, pepper, black olive and so much more. A crazy kaleidoscope. The palate is quite masculine and certainly shows more as an adolescent. The fruit is melting away and deep in the background, but the secondaries haven’t really emerged. I suspect this is a good 10 years from really prime drinking, but man oh man what a wonderful baby killing. A really special wine. (95 pts.)
I remember tasting this at the Marche aux Vins in 2001. Many of my friends found it too fat and fruit driven and passed on purchasing. I bought some having faith in Jamet. My friends are smart and backfilled a while ago. Great Jamet and the best since '91.
Thanks for the note Lewis. I was lucky to be in Ampuis in 2002 when this vintage was available at the domaine. The Jamets had just finished their new facitlity. We tasted through some barrels of 2001 and sampled a few other vintages in bottle. I purchased as much as I could, having to run over to Vienne to get cash from an ATM-no cc at the domaine. They also let me purchase 1 btls of Cote Brune. The wine was so masculine and huge on release, we only drank one btl in France and brought the rest back. I also made it over to Ogier where I got a few classics and one Belle Helene. I’m not sure which domaine I like more. Kind of like the Beaucastel vs. Vieux Telegraphe rivalry. In any case, these wines are amazing and will be longer lived, imho, than '91.
Gregg, I certainly agree the 1999’s will go longer than the 1991’s, both at Jamet amd Ogier.
I may have been the first American to purchase Ogier bottles officially imported by Kacher, 1988 vintage, Bobby was at Pearson’s one Saturday long ago to offer the wines to David Schildnecht pre-arrival and I bought on the spot.
Over many years, I have often opened Jamet and Ogier together, usually single blind. And I have always preferred Jamet by a small but significant margin. I don’t open them together anymore, in order to get full enjoyment from the Ogier.
Cant agree more with all the positive sentiments here…Had my one and only bottle of this last week. I found it to be almost as good as Rostaing’s 99’s…
Have you cracked open one of the Cote Brunes? I have done so on two occasions. Once in Berlin with David Schildknecht who was more perplexed than impressed. But that was about three years ago. And once again last month in DC, where the wine seemed more open, quite concentrated and generally more impressive. But there are some who prefer the regular cuvee to the Cote Brune. What is your feeling and why? I still have another six bottles and will hold on to them for a while before opening.
Chris, I love Rostaing too, opened a 2001 La Landonne recently… corked.
Panos, I have not broached the '99 Cote Brune yet, and after this bottle, I may wait another year or three before I do. But now I’m curious… why was David Schildknecht perplexed? BTW, David did not actually get me hooked on Cote Rotie, but he was my main pusher for quite a few years, when he was in retail in DC. And Alsace. And German.
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