Winemaker Notes
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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Vinous
Opaque ruby. Mineral-accented blackberry, cherry, smoked meat and olive aromas show fine detail and a spicy black pepper flourish. Energetic cherry and red and dark berry flavors are complemented by a candied violet accent; an exotic pit fruit nuance emerges with air. Delivers a suave blend of depth as well as energy, and finishes with smoky mineral cut, discreet tannins and superb, floral-driven persistence.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From old vines at the bottom of the slope, Courbis's 2020 Cornas Champelrose sees no new oak in its élevage. Bursting with blackberries and licorice, it's a full-bodied, dense, extracted and richly tannic wine, with plenty of the appellation's meaty, tarry notes and a long, velvety finish.
Range: 91-94 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Cornas Champelrose is a more charming, up-front effort that still brings plenty of Cornas character. Ripe red and black fruits, spice, cured meats, and peppery herbs define the bouquet, and this meaty, medium to full-bodied, concentrated effort has plenty of accessibility today, yet will continue evolving gracefully over the coming 10-15 years.
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.