Côte-Rôtie 2016 wines: The top scorers

Jamet's Côte Brune is a historical oddity rather than the result of following the single vineyard trend. It once represented 50% of production, but as Jean-Paul has increased holdings over the decades, it's now just a small percentage, at just 2,000 bottles on average. It is consistently one of the greatest wines in the appellation, and 2016 is a particularly compelling vintage. It has a beautifully floral aromatic profile, with underlying forest berries and fresh earth. It has intense freshness and precision on the palate, with a pleasing grain and sinew to the tannins that promise future textural pleasure. A touch of resin on the long, saline finish adds complexity to what is a complete, balanced and concentrated wine. So elegant and effortless.

No destemming here, aged in mostly old demi-muids with no more than 10% new oak. A captivatingly pretty floral fragrance can be coaxed out along with aniseed and blackberry notes, but it's tightly wound for now. The rounded palate is dense, with good concentration of red fruit and delightfully perfumed juniper. Soft tannins coat the mouth, and oak is present but well judged. There's good balancing acidity and a lovely, gently mineral seam leads onto a long, saline, savoury, piercing finish. Real detail and precision.

Aged in demi-muids - a maximum of 10% new oak - with no destemming. It has that austere mineral character on the nose so typical of La Landonne. It is rounded, with good concentration and ripeness, matched with ample, piercing acidity and bristling with fine, fresh tannins. Its intensity comes primarily from its structure and mineral content rather than the fruit, and it is incredibly energetic and lively on the palate. Powerful and very well balanced in a structural, chiselled style, this is in an altogether different league from his Ampodium, with a good balance of fruit, flowers and mineral scents.

There is no better way to develop an understanding of the different expressions of the single vineyard sites of Côte-Rôtie than by tasting from barrel in Jean-Paul Jamet's underground bunker - especially in a vintage like 2016. 'You smell the terroir first in 2016; in 2015, you smell the vintage first,' he says. Whereas his wonderful 2015 has a lush, easy-going charm, the 2016 is more tailored and precise. Moving from Les Lezards to Gerine, then Fongeant, Le Plomb and La Landonne, each barrel has its own marked character. It's clear that this is an elegant vintage, not hugely powerful but detailed and complex.

Not destemmed. Always the deepest and most austere of the single vineyard 'La La' wines, the 2016 La Landonne exhibits some classic peppery spice and smoky bacon aromatics alongside dark plum and roast espresso - intense, vivid and expressive in aroma. It's full-bodied, concentrated and dense in style, and at this stage the oak is just about in balance. Lush, concentrated fruit is allied to a sinewy texture coming from the stems. It's quite grainy, in fact, but the tannins are sure to resolve during their extended oak ageing - the wine is only at the start of its long elevage, and will spend a total of 42 months in new oak barriques, reaching the market in early 2020.

A vintage that underlines the terroir', says Philippe Guigal. Vibrant and full of fruit, with underlying oak spice aromas. Juicy, soft and yielding on the palate, it's not terribly concentrated but it has a good balance of ripe acidity, soft tannin and fruit, lifted by the Viognier. Its customary 42 months in new oak barriques has hardly begun - it will be on the market in 2020.

From 75 year-old vines on the lieu-dit of Les Grandes Places, around 35% destemmed. It's a darker, more brooding style than their Viallière, with black cherry, blackberry, tea leaf and a touch of menthol on the nose. It's dark and brooding on the palate too, with muscular tannins, good acidity and a mineral edge. The tannins here are robust, emphasising structure over fruit to good effect.

The first vintage of this wine was in 1997. It has resonant Côte-Rôtie aromatics; sylvan, resinous, and more vinous than many. It is medium to full-bodied, with generous, concentrated, sweetly-ripe fruit, very fine tannins and a fine seam of minerality that extends into the long, savoury finish. A serious wine this, very well balanced with unmistakable class from this distinguished site. Well-judged use of oak, this is harmonious already. Impressive.

A darker, meatier style than their other cuvées, with defined berry fruits and a brooding, earthy background. Full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, this has a dense lattice of grippy tannins. Savoury and well balanced, finishing dry. A very authentic, classic style.

Darker in character than La Mouline with some roasted spice notes. It is exceptionally smooth and seamless on the palate, very harmonious with life, intensity and lift. It shows strong oak influence at this time, and will see another 30 months in new oak barriques before it is available to buy, in February 2020.