Winemaker Notes
A manly, balanced, powerful, heady wine of a deep red shade, it needs time to show itself.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Jaboulet bought this 7.3-acre estate in 1998, and this is the first full vintage. It is a huge wine, with all the true inky blackness and density of a Cornas. Firm, dry and concentrated, it also has generous ripe black plums, a hint of sweet jelly. It makes an excellent mix of the traditional foursquare Cornas style, with modern sophistication.
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Wine Spectator
Rich, supple and mineral-tasting, with distinctive stone-dust and wet earth character. Complex but ready to drink, this brick-colored beauty unfolds layers of spice, mocha, chocolate, plum and toasted notes, all in an elegant package that floats to a long, seductive 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.