You cannot write a story about winegrower Jean-Luc Jamet without spending a few words on the final split in 2013 with his brother Jean-Paul Jamet. Until that year, they had successfully run the old family domain in Le Vallin, Ampuis, for 25 years, but the differences of opinion ran so high that an abrupt break was necessary. The real cause remains guesswork, that's how correct they are. However, it seems that Jean-Luc Jamet wanted to go in a completely different direction with the wines. And you can taste it!
Since 2014, he has five harvests to his name. He could almost start from scratch, because brother Jean-Paul was left behind on the old domain. Jean-Luc had to build a new winery, on the same site. The property division has been complete for several years now: between the two domains is a hundred meters long and two meters high wall of gray-grey concrete blocks, starting directly at the old entrance. In the beginning, Jamet still sold large parts of his harvest to finance the new construction and the restart. It is now clear from brother Jean-Paul that he continues the family tradition with the classic, firm, long-lasting and slowly developing côte-rôties.
We ask him if he has finally found his own wine style, because after four harvests it seems that this is the intention and may have been the cause of the split. After a moment's hesitation: ‘Good wine is made in the vineyard’. I've always been working it out, so I'm aware of all the idiosyncrasies of each plot—his brother was in commerce. Everything according to the lutte raisonné method. The wines of that time were very closed. You always had to decant them. Now I am looking for the softer tannins, so wines that are smoother and more harmonious, so that you can drink them three or four years after bottling. I think they are also purer and have a wider reach. Nothing has changed in terms of shelf life, because the style remains classic.'
Jamet is a control freak. He knows every vine. His terroirs hardly hold any secrets anymore. The largest part of the 3.7 ha in the AOC Cote-Rôtie is located in the northern part of the appellation, including in La Landonne, La Côte Baudin and Mornachon. Some southern plots are Tartaras, Lancement and Grand Chavaroche. He also cultivates 2.1 ha in the Côtes du Rhône AOC (in the nearby hamlets of Champrond and Bonnivières) and another 1.8 in the Collines Rhodaniennes IGP, next to and opposite the domain (that IGP is a huge repository of almost 300 communes in 5 departments). In short are principles. “Of course we pick everything by hand. We determine the order for each plot. To this end, the moment is important at which the maximum expression and reflection of the vintage is possible. To give the wines some minerality, I destem the grapes.
Finally. Jamet is particularly pleased with the 2018 vintage. “There has been something every time for the past 6 years. Drought, frost, hailstorms. We really needed a vintage like '18.'
Source: proefschrift.nl