Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Red fruit on the nose with a touch of sour cherries. What a delicious interplay of juicy fruit, elegant tannins and mineral acidity this excellent, medium-bodied Cornas has. Long, fresh and moderately firm finish, the generous tannins giving this very good length. From young vines planted in 2015 and 2018. 100% whole-cluster fermented and matured in demi muid oak casks. Drink from release.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Produced at a limited yield of eight hectoliters per hectare, the 2022 Cornas Juliette reveals a complex, dense bouquet of spices, dark cherries, flowers and licorice mingled with lovely notes of pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, it's compact and framed by an impressive chassis of structured tannins. Originating from a late-maturing (two weeks later than in Les Chaillots), south-facing plot at 370 meters above sea level on granite and clay soils, it delivers a long, powerful and slightly green finish. This robust and impressive wine will benefit from some time to mellow and fully express its potential.
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.