Winemaker Notes
This cuvée comes from various vineyard parcels across the Courbis domaine, mostly from vines near the base of Cornas slope. They are blended to produce a wine ready for near term drinking upon release. The soils are a combination of only limestone and granite. The Cornas Champelrose benefits from 3 weeks of vatting to extract as much color and flavor as possible. It is aged entirely in casks that are a mix of 25% new; 20% one year; and 55% 2-3 years of age. The barrel-aging period is 12 months, after which the wine is assembled in tank and aged for four more months before bottling. The wine has generous, accessible, pure fruit and shows the full character of its appellation in the attractive Courbis house style.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the Cornas releases, the 2016 Cornas Champelrose is rounded and supple, with lots of plum, violets, scorched earth and bouquet garni aromatics. This full-bodied, rich 2016 has plenty of tannin, an opulent, sexy texture and a good finish. Give bottles 2-3 years of cellaring and enjoy over the following decade.
Range: 92-94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The entry-level Cornas from Courbis, the 2016 Cornas Champelrose sees no new oak. It offers briary aromas of red raspberries, a velvety, open-knit texture and a long finish tinged with orange zest and clove. Drink this medium to full-bodied wine from its release in early 2018 through 2025.
Range: 92-94 -
Wine Spectator
Very fresh, with a core of cassis and bitter plum fruit that races through nicely, lined with light chalk, floral and savory notes. Chalky minerality holds sway on the finish, leaving a mouthwatering feel. Best from 2020 through 2030.
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James Suckling
Attractive, ripe plums and complex, fragrant, spicy and peppery nuances. The palate has a smooth array of long, silky tannins, dark minerals, woody spices and a succulent, easy finish. Drink or hold.
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.