Levet Cote-Rotie Les Journaries 2020
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This wine is more subtle, more elegant and “quieter” if you will than the “Chavaroche”. At the same time, it is very much a Levet wine with a bouquet of violets, wild berries, a touch of animal and resinous-like tannins that speak of the inclusion of stems (a hallmark of the Levet tradition).
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Again a prospective sample blended from several barrels, the 2020 Cote Rotie Les Journaries (labeled Maestria outside the United States) is a blend of fruit from La Landonne and Côte Brune. It's full-bodied, rich and tannic, even chewy, with plenty of concentration, yet it's also fresh and fruit-driven, with vibrant notes of purple raspberries and exotic spices. This should be terrific; it just needs a good 5+ years.
Barrel Sample: 94-96 -
Jeb Dunnuck
Classic La Landonne notes of smoked meats, red and black fruits, ground pepper, and woodsmoke emerge from the 2020 Côte Rôtie Les Journaries, another rich, yet seamless, pure, and impeccably balanced barrel sample. I love its purity of fruit, it has ripe tannins, and is a very complete, harmonious 2020 that will shine with just a few years in the cellar. This cuvée (also known as Maestria in Europe), which comes from the La Landonne, Côte Blonde, and Côte Rozier, sees plenty of stems and mostly older barrels.
Range: 93-95
Other Vintages
2019-
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Robert
Parker
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The cultivation of vines here began with Greek settlers who arrived in 600 BC. Its proximity to Vienne was important then and also when that city became a Roman settlement but its situation, far from the negociants of Tain, led to its decline in more modern history. However the 1990s brought with it a revival fueled by one producer, Marcel Guigal, who believed in the zone’s potential. He, along with the critic, Robert Parker, are said to be responsible for the zone’s later 20th century renaissance.
Where the Rhone River turns, there is a build up of schist rock and a remarkable angle that produces slopes to maximize the rays of the sun. Cote Rotie remains one of the steepest in viticultural France. Its varied slopes have two designations. Some are dedicated as Côte Blonde and others as Côte Brune. Syrahs coming from Côte Blonde are lighter, more floral, and ready for earlier consumption—they can also include up to 20% of the highly scented Viognier. Those from Côte Brune are more sturdy, age-worthy and are typically nearly 100% Syrah. Either way, a Cote Rotie is going to have a particularly haunting and savory perfume, expressing a more feminine side of the northern Rhone.