2012 Vintage
JANCIS ROBINSON Purple Pages
Underrated
gems from Roussillon
18 Mar 2014 by Richard Hemming
Jones 2012 IGP Côtes Catalanes 16.5 Drink
2014-2020
90%
Grenache, 10% Carignan. Soft, peppery and quite light – certainly a feminine
version of the Roussillon Grenache model – thanks to a shorter than usual
maceration (10 days). Smooth, drinkable, juicy. (RH)
Jones, La Perle Rare 2012 Vin de France 17.5 Drink
2015-2025
One
barrel of Syrah which stood out of the vintage. Barrel-fermented. Four year old
vines – opposite to the philosophy of the rest of the range, which is based on
old vines. Gorgeous oak and beautiful fruit – so finely hewn! Stony character
and a baked earth note too – really expressive and supple. Seemingly weightless
too – that’s a real feature of the domain. (RH)
ROBERT PARKER
DOMAINE JONES ROUGE 2012
Jones was waiting for her 2012 Grenache to complete malo when I visited this past spring, so I cannot report on what will eventually become Jones Rouge from that vintage other than to say that it is going to texturally polished and full of pure fruit but also complexity.
2011 Vintage
ROBERT PARKER
DOMAINE JONES ROUGE 2011 90 POINTS
Parker 2014
The 2011 Jones rouge – whose constituents and elevage are very like those of its 2010 predecessor reviewed here as well – is less richly concentrated or mineral than that wine, but exhibits its own virtues. Fresh, ripe strawberry and red raspberry come off with shrub-like effusiveness and juiciness but free of any superficial sweetness, while a saline streak enhances mouthwatering appeal and skins and seeds of berry serve for invigoratingly tart tang. Generous and open, this finishes with exuberance, impressive persistence, as well as downright refreshment relatively rare among Roussillon reds. My suspicion is that it will be best enjoyed by 2015.
2010 Vintage
ROBERT PARKER
DOMAINE JONES ROUGE 2010 92 POINTS
Raised in used demi-muids
and tank, and incorporating with its Grenache around 10% Carignan (subjected to
separate bottling the vintages before) Jones’s 2010 Jones Rouge is scented with
fresh, ultra-ripe red raspberry and strawberry accompanied by intimations of
iodine, rosemary oil, smoky black tea, crushed stone and piquant crushed fruit
pit, all of which figure on a palate lusciously juicy and expansive,
intensely-fruited yet incorporating invigorating ping of crunched berry seeds;
medicinal herbal-mineral piquancy; and a saliva-liberating lick of salt. The
finish here is as penetratingly persistent as it is infectiously mouthwatering.
As usual, this bottling offers no just a terrific introduction to the wiles of
pure-fruited Maury Grenache, but one full of genuine intrigue and issuing an
irresistible invitation to have the next glass without weighing-down your
palate or dulling your imagination! It’s sure to continue drinking well through
at least 2015; and as a longer track record accumulates we’ll discover whether
that prognosis is conservative. And based on ex-cellars pricing (I have not
been able to track-down U.S. retail) this is also one amazing value.
"Again, made from those old vines in Maury, mainly Grenache with just a splash of Carignan this has just a touch of oak, but the dark, damson fruit shines out, still fresh and appealing with silky tannins and a lightness which makes it very food friendly, especially if there is red meat or a game pie on your plate" (Christine Austin, Yorkshire Post)
2009 Vintage
"Fine dark plums with strawberry highlights" (Bob Tyrer, The Sunday Times)
"Grenache and a bit of Carignan, half oak aged. Sweet, bright red berry fruit nose is aromatic and fresh. The palate is fruity with a bit of grip. Deliciously lively and open, showing sweet red fruits and great definition. 90/100" (Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak)
"A full-bodied, grenache-based red, whose mulberry and red fruits flavours are delightfully pure and fresh thanks to mimimal use of oak, savoury, damsony acidity, silky textured tannins and a lightness of touch that makes this red moreishly drinkable and so different from the overtly oaky, sweet and New World styles so prevalent in this area." (Anthony Rose's Blog)
"Raised in used demi-muids and tank, the 2009 Jones Rouge is a pure Grenache grown on Maury’s dark schist. Strikingly evocative of very ripe strawberries, it adds interest and invigoration by way of smoky black tea, crushed stone, and white pepper. Despite its fullness, this delivers long lasting levity and refreshment with its luscious fruit; offering a polished, pure, infectious introduction to the Grenache Noir grape much as the corresponding Jones Blanc epitomizes the far less well-known Grenache Gris. Start drinking this and I guarantee you will have to restrain yourself to not drain the bottle." (David Schildknecht, Robert Parker Wine Advocate)
"This has a nice light colour and another really expressive nose of fresh fruits, garrigue herbs and spice, with a hint of cigar box. The palate is a riot of bramble, raspberry and redcurrant, but with plenty of garrigue herb and spice flavours - there's a lot going on in this wine. The tannins are fine and the acidity is ample, making for a quite rich, but very elegant - even feminine - wine." (Leon Stolarski's Blog)
"With an aromatic, wild flower and red berry perfumed nose coupled with a light summer fruit taste, this red has good structure and concentration." (Harpers Wine & Spirit)
"Full bodied with animal notes, red fruits and black cherry flavours. Spicy with a lovely soft texture. It’s silky smooth, with a delicate charm, showin real depth and dimension. Still fresh in spite of its weight, with an impressive length and finish. Superb! " (Clive Patman, Bin Ends Wine Club)
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