2011 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Côte-Rôtie Les Jumelles

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 83 points

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  4/28/2018 - forceberry wrote: 83 Points

  Aged in French barriques, 20% new. 13% alcohol.
  
  Almost completely opaque black cherry color with a somewhat developed maroon rim. Very rich, powerful and quite dark-toned nose with aromas of very ripe dark berries, some sweet chocolatey oak spice, a little bit of blackberry marmalade, a hint of succulent plummy fruit and a touch of toasty wood. The wine is dry yet ripe and smooth on the palate with opulent flavors of juicy dark fruits, sweet plum compote, some sweet and toasty oak spice, a little bit of milk chocolate, a hint of woody bitterness and a touch of cocoa. Although moderately high in acidity, the wine feels a bit flabby and round on the palate - a characteristic only emphasized by the modest, gentle and polished tannins. The finish is very ripe and sweet-toned with rich and gentle flavors of blackberry marmalade, some coarse woody spice, a little bit of oaky milk chocolate tones, a hint of cocoa and a touch of succulent dark fruits.
  
  I had hoped that a few years would have benefited the wine, but it was as soft, mellow and oaky as ever. I highly doubt that the wine sees only 20% of the new oak because of the very obvious, sweet and rather obfuscating oak character here. In a tasting where we had 9 Northern Rhône reds, this was by far the sweetest, oakiest and softest in style. Probably a wine meant for a more Californian taste? Rather unimpressive for a Côte-Rôtie and honestly no-one's favorite in the tasting. Overpriced at 37,69€.

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  4/30/2015 - forceberry wrote: 83 Points

  Imposing, almost completely opaque black cherry color. Very rich, aromatic and almost sweet nose with aromas of blackcurrant, bramble and blackberry jam, some plummy fruit, a hint of meaty iron and a touch of tapenade. Even though the wine should see only 20% of new oak, the nose is more or less dominated by sweet wood aromas and toasted chocolate notes. Full-bodied, dry and quite tightly-wound palate with flavors of concentrated blackberry fruit, chokeberry, ripe plum, some blackcurrant, a little bilberry and oaky hints of dark chocolate, sweet mocha and peppery spice. Quite nice, bright acidity, but very ripe and modest - even barely noticeable - tannins. The finish is more oaky than the midpalate with flavors of toasted wood, chocolate milkshake, bramble, vegetal herbal notes, bitter oak spice, some black pepper and a hint of olive. The finish is only medium-long, slightly astringent and a bit unpleasant with coarse wood tannins and flavors.
  
  Compared to the 2006 vintage, this wine was higher in acidity, but also had more pronounced oak characteristics and surprisingly light tannins. Flavor-wise the wine seems a bit unbalanced and awkward, needing several more years to settle down, but structure-wise the wine is very soft and drinking nicely right now. Hard to say if the wine will ever come around - I'd say the wine would be in optimal drinking condition at 8-9 years after the vintage, but I have no idea if the structure will survive that long. We'll see. Somehow I'm not convinced. Usually Côte-Rôties can be quite expensive and still deliver for the price; this wine, however, seemed too expensive at 37,69€.

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