Description
Domaine Pierre Dumazet, Côte-Rôtie
If you ask me, great Côte-Rôtie offers one of the most sublime and transcendent pleasures to be had in the entire world of wine, especially once it’s entered a peak drinking window around birthdays seven or eight. This is when savory terroir character and beguiling secondary flavors start fully blossoming, creating a Syrah of indescribably haunting perfume and brooding texture. But today’s wine, from micro-producer Pierre Dumazet, is bound to push your patience to the absolute limit because it’s already stunning at just three years old. Again, experience tells me that waiting longer will pay massive dividends, but it’s just too mesmerizing right now, so I suggest you take after us and grab several bottles for consumption both now and later.
What I love most about Côte-Rôtie, as compared to Cornas, Saint-Joseph, and Hermitage, is the supreme elegance gained from the appellation’s more northerly climate. In the best wines, you’ll find softer, rounder textures and more perfumed aromatics, something Pierre Dumazet has apparently mastered. I say “apparently” because today’s 2018 is the first vintage I’ve encountered from this obscure producer, and it’s among the most exciting wines coming out of Côte-Rôtie this year. If you can find any, that is: He only releases a few cuvées on a sporadic and highly limited schedule so when I say I have no idea if and when we’ll see these wines again, that’s with 100% honesty. We can allow up to six bottles per person.
Of course, there’s a good reason I hadn’t come across Pierre Dumazet’s wines before—the octogenarian vintner, who has been running his family’s tiny, ultra-traditional domaine since 1978, has little-to0no US market presence and only releases wines when he feels like it. Based in Limony, Cave Dumazet is made up of about 4.5 hectares of steep, terraced plots scattered throughout Cornas, Côte-Rôtie, Saint Joseph, and Condrieu. To supplement his tiny holdings, Dumazet also sources from fellow growers. His own vineyards, worked exclusively by hand, are farmed by the principles of lutte raisonnée, without the use of synthetic additives, fertilizers, or chemicals. Dumazet only makes between 1,000 and 4,000 bottles of each cuvée (which works out to just over 300 cases, on the high end), so the wines are naturally scarce to begin with—we were incredibly fortunate to score a few cases to offer.
Dumazet is as traditional in the cellar as he is in the vineyard, relying on spontaneous fermentations, long élevages in old oak, and minimal sulfur additionals. His 2018 Côte-Rôtie was vinified with 50% whole clusters and co-fermented with a small percentage of Viognier, as is Côte-Rôtie tradition. Again, don’t rush to open this beauty right away, unless you plan on treating yourself to a small stockpile. While it drinks beautifully now, the longer you resist, the more you’ll be rewarded—treat this like you would a great Burgundy or Barolo and give the terroir sufficient time to fully express itself.
In the glass, Dumazet’s 2018 Côte-Rôtie has a dark ruby core with purple reflections. The presence of Viognier isn’t noticeable; it really just serves to bring out the best aromatic and textural characteristics in the Syrah. The beautiful high-toned aromatics that grace the nose are laced with brambly blueberry, blackberry, and cherry fruit; salty olive and smoked meats; wildflowers, crushed stones, black pepper; and earthy notes of sous bois, dried leaves, and forest floor. There’s a real Burgundian sensibility to the elegant, floral tones as well as the soft, delicately structured tannins. At three years old, this wine is just starting to really get going, but by the seven- or eight-year mark, it will truly hit its stride. When it comes to Côte-Rôtie, the drinking experience really improves exponentially year after year, so if you can get a few bottles, try it now, wait another few years, and revisit again and again. After an hour decant, serve it around 60 degrees in large Burgundy stems, with just about any lamb dish. This indulgent recipe for ultra-tender “spoon” lamb would be an out-of-this-world accompaniment.
