Winemaker Notes
Very deep red color with a nose of black fruits and spices followed by a fruity, spicy and peppery palate with coated tannins and good length.
To be enjoyed with red meats.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
The moment you move the glass close to your nose the extraordinary perfume of this great Cornas is overwhelming. Deep, meaty and smoky, yet brimming with blue fruits and violets, how can you resist? What grace and elegance this has on the pristine and light-footed palate. Really concentrated, but only medium-bodied (13% alcohol) this is a masterpiece of filigree at the breathtakingly fresh and precise finish.
-
Decanter
A surprisingly floral expression of Cornas, with plentiful violets on the nose. Smooth, ripe, fresh and well balanced. The acidity is quite marked, in fact, making for quite a brisk, strict style on the palate. Tannins are firm and quite rigid, so give this some time. All destemmed.
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.