Northern Rhone night--95,98,01 Chave, Allemand, Jamet

Two nights ago we had a small in person, carefully distanced and COVID-safe birthday celebration for the Northern Rhone enthusiast in our group. I figured that I would just enjoy things and not plan to post notes, partly because I’m not such a Syrah drinker and as a result have a little trouble writing meaningful notes. But the wines were so good, I thought I should at least try to put something out there. Wines were all double decanted 2-3 hours before we started.

1998 Trimbach clos Ste Hune–light gold color, rich and important on the palate, yet not at all heavy, with great acidity. Lime, slight honey, moderate petrol, great length. (this was the starter wine??)

2006 Jamet Cote Rotie– just becoming beautifully mature. Dark raspberry, black olive, meat–all perfectly blended, with a fair amount of acid. In a great spot right now.

2005 Allemand Cornas "Reynard’–Riper, almost lush fruit. A big wine but balanced. some smoke and meaty elements. I got a little white pepper. Smooth and actually a little modern feeling. Missing a little of the “wildness” that I prize in Cornas, but still overall an excellent wine.

1995 JL Chave Hermitage–mature, broad, rich wine with no sharp edges. Seems to have settled into a comfortable maturity with still a lot going on and no sign of fading.

1998 JL Chave Hermitage–quite a nice wine but seems perhaps slightly tired in comparison to the 2001 and 1995. On it’s own likely would still have been considered stellar.

2001 JL Chave Hermitage–Tremendous energy, and right now the winner amongst the three Chaves tonight. Cherry/raspberry fruit sprinkled with black pepper, and some suave meatiness. Aristocratic and exciting wine.

Jealous, to be sure - beautiful night of wines!!

I miss my '01 Chave - was wonderful each of the times I had it, really didn’t seem to have any dead time through it’s relatively young life. I can relate to the ‘energy’ that you spoke of with that wine, to be sure. Have no more '98 Chave either, which apparently is a good thing.

Thanks for the notes.

Glad you could safely celebrate your friend’s birthday! I’ve drunk a small number of mid-oughts Allemand in the past couple of years, and I had the 2005 at the beginning of June. Your TN is spot on - the 2005 is an excellent wine, but missing Cornas feeling. To me it doesn’t drink like a wine fetching +$400 in the auction market.

Todd–I should have been nicer to the 98–It’s a very fine wine, but just didn’t quite have the excitement of the 2001.

Paul–yeah, we’re on the same page. I’ve only had a few Allemands, and while excellent wines, they have a little more polish than I want.

Sounds like an amazing dinner! Thank you for the notes. These are fascinating to me, as it’s a bit at odds with my recent experiences. The couple of 98 Chaves I’ve opened have been massive brutes and not ready for prime time, so I’ve buried the two that I still own, while the 95s were drinking at peak after a short decant. I’ve not loved the 01. Palates and bottles!

I think 05 is a funny vintage to judge Northern Rhones on, because many of them are still quite primary - it’s just such a huge vintage. A bit like 05 Burgundy, in that no one knows when they’ll be ready. I opened up an 05 Robert Michel Genynale last year and completely understand the polished comment, though Michel was far from a “polished” winemaker.

Was this the culmination of the “which Jamet to serve” thread?

Looks like a great lineup. The 2005 reynard we recently had was quite animalistic. but Allemand does have some bottle variation.

This is more like my experience than what John mentioned vis a vis the 1998. I’ve always really loved the 1995.

I think 05 is a funny vintage to judge Northern Rhones on, because many of them are still quite primary - it’s just such a huge vintage. A bit like 05 Burgundy, in that no one knows when they’ll be ready. I opened up an 05 Robert Michel Genynale last year and completely understand the polished comment, though Michel was far from a “polished” winemaker.

I’ve really liked the 2005 Chaillots and it is a big wine, haven’t had Reynard 2005. I think that Allemand is certainly polished and modern in that sense (not spoofed). If you’re comparing to Verset, or even older Clape and Michel, as your standard anything will seem polished in comparison.

Yes, Mark, this tasting was the reason I asked the Jamet question. Josh Raynolds suggested that the 06 might be in the best place at the moment, so that’s what I went with.

Yes, I think subtle bottle variation could play a role in comparing the Chave’s, plus temperature (I asked everyone to bring bottles cellar temp as we were outside in 75 degrees or so, and I even had a cooling station if needed for the bottles.) but the 95 had to come the farthest by car, and was a little warm in comparison with the other bottles. also bear in mind that these bottles were all in the 95-100 point range in my mind, so even though one might have been slightly better than another on this particular night, they were all stellar.

Thanks for the notes !

Those wines would all be in my wheelhouse! Well, the Chave and Jamet that you had are sound asleep in my remote storage, so the TN data points are very helpful.

I’ve made that point a few times here before on Allemand being more polished than most of your traditional Cornas. I still love them, have a buncha them, but, yes, they’re a bit more polished, even softer (not to a fault).