Soulful Quaffer:
Finesse and Value in the Northern Rhône
2011 Jamet Syrah Collines Rhodaniennes IGP
For decades, Jamet has been the benchmark of classical Côte-Rôtie.
Today we turn to Jamet's more care-free side with their Syrah Collines Rhodaniennes.
The Syrah Collines Rhodaniennes is Jamet's soulful quaffer. If their Côte-Rôties can go 20-30 years, the Collines Rhodaniennes offers delicious drinking for the next handful of years.
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Jamet's Collines Rhodaniennes showcases their pure, subtle style of winemaking. It's a gorgeous and delicious wine of red fruits and flowers seamlessly integrated with savory notes of spice, olives and minerality. The silken quality of the tannins is just beautiful.
2011 in the Northern Rhône produced clear, concentrated wines that will drink well in their youth, but still possess the region's characteristic intensity and complexity. There's some flesh to the wines, but also shows plenty of detail and overall harmony.
There's no doubt that 2011 was a very, very good vintage for the Northern Rhône. For me, some of the strongest wines that came out of the vintage were the "little wines," things like Jamet's Collines Rhodaniennes, an IGP designation for vines grown more or less around Côte-Rôtie. There's an immediacy of both fruit and mineral to these wines that's really just lovely.
Calling Jamet's Collines Rhodaniennes simply delicious would be unfair. While it's a joyous wine, there's also a startling finesse. You'd have to guess that in part it's Jamet's sensitive winemaking and in part the young vine Côte-Rôtie that frequently shows up in the cuvée. Regardless, it all makes for a sophisticated drinker.
It's always nice to be able to offer wines that offer so much enjoyment and interest and are affordable. Like everything at Jamet, quantities at modest.
To order, reply to this email or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits