Winemaker Notes
Over the years Gilbert's neighbor, Noël Verset, continually asked Gilbert why he didn't make a special bottling of only his oldest vineyards. Now that Nicolas is managing the domaine with him, they decided to give it a try and made just two barrels from "Patou" vineyards that are more than 100 years old. They named the cuvée after Gilbert's father-in-law, Henri Dumien.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This broad Cornas shows attractive fruit purity and ripeness, offering generous notes of plum and fig wrapped up in fine-grained tannins. Mulberry and camphor smoke details hover on the full frame. There's great cut and definition throughout, with elegant tannins guiding the focused finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Cornas Henri, less dominated by phenols than its counterpart, evokes aromas of dark wild berries, spices and mulberries. On the palate, this wine is medium to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, supported by structured tannins and a fleshy core of fruit. This rather firm Cornas culminates in a long, slightly meaty and spicy finish.
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.