Winemaker Notes
It was an early, sun-kissed vintage. Sufficient rain in August alleviated the intense heat and drought conditions of the month of July. Yields were good. The wines are rich and powerful, but lively thanks to a touch of acidity in the reds, the distinctive feature of a magnificent vintage.
Game in general, and especially hare, is the kind of meat that pairs ideally with the Cornas wine made by Mr Voge. He suggests this version of Hare à la Royale: the saddle stuffed with foie gras and a stewed preparation thickened with blood and the rest of the animal. After a few years of ageing, Cornas Vieilles Vignes is a great match for this dish with its hints of leather, pepper and distinct, delicate tannins.
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
From lieux-dits Mazard and La Côte, 80% destemmed. Sun-warmed herbs accompany sand, lavender and raspberry on the nose. It has good aromatic freshness and definition, and the full-bodied palate is also clean, super-fresh and lively. It's dense and ripe, defined by serrated tannins, keen acidity and a mouth-coating character. This is full of character, a very classic expression of Cornas that's not massive, but is detailed, clear and sinewy with mineral hints. Seriously good this year.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Skeins of graphite and smoke provide an alluring introduction to this seductively fruity, concentrated Syrah. Blackberry and mulberry flavors are vibrant yet concentrated, spiced with black pepper, leather and olive, edged by fine, supple tannins. Irresistible already, the wine will improve through 2040. Citadel Trading.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes is similar in style to the Vieilles Fontaines, just slightly less concentrated. It comes from the Combe, Patou, La Côte, Les Mazards and Chaillot lieux-dits and is partially destemmed and brought up mostly in neutral barrels. Lifted notes of black and blue fruits, damp earth, spring flowers, and violets all emerge from this full-bodied, concentrated yet elegant red that stays balanced on the palate, with good acidity. It's another powerful, seriously endowed, pedal-to-the-metal Cornas that will have two decades of longevity.
-
Wine Spectator
This offers a mix of red and black cherry paste flavors, infused with a range of bay leaf, savory, tobacco, olive and chalk notes. Shows a grippy feel through the finish, with the chalky minerality driving through. Best from 2022 through 2038.
-
James Suckling
Impressive depth and detail with swirling, fragrant complexity of ripe blackberries and plenty of dark minerals. The oak is dialed-up, but the old-vine fruit is up to it. Concentrated, dense tannins, long, dark-fruit flavors and a bright future. From organically grown grapes. Try in 2022.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
In almost every vintage, it's worth the price difference to step up to Voge's Vieilles Vignes bottling. Certainly, the 2016 Cornas Vieilles Vignes is another huge success, with hints of cracked pepper and briars accenting red plums and then picking up licorice on the long, softly dusty finish. Full-bodied, concentrated and supple, it's approachable now yet looks sure to evolve gracefully for at least a decade.
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.”
Distinguished as a fine Syrah producing zone since the 18th century, Cornas, like Cote Rotie, is made up of vineyards covering steep and hard-to-work, granite terraces. As a result the region’s wines fell out of favor during the mid 20th century when the global market was more focused on bulk wines and vineyards that yielded high quantities. It wasn’t until the 1980s when a group of energetic young winemakers reestablished the integrity of these precipitous terraces and also began making an ultra-modern style of Syrah. The new style didn’t need a decade before it was drinkable and could reach the consumer faster than the region’s traditional wines. Given the new quality coming out of the zone, its popularity once again soared and today a good Cornas can easily challenge many of those from Hermitage. Characteristics of Syrah from Cornas include teeth-staining flavors of blackberry jam, plum, pepper, violets, smoked game, charcoal, chalk dust and smoke.