2013 Cornas, Granit 60, Domaine Vincent Paris, Rhône
Critics reviews
Jeb Dunnuck - 30/12/2014
About this WINE
Domaine Vincent Paris
Having started as a vigneron in 1997, Vincent is now the proud owner of eight hectares across the Northern Rhône. Some are situated on the perilously steep slopes at the top of the hill, looking down on the village itself. Indeed, the numbers on his Granit cuvées refer to the degree of the slopes on which they grow. His wines are made without new oak and are also unfiltered – letting the natural power of his vines and terroir speak for itself. His ’20s are bold but, as ever, balanced. Fresher and more chiselled than one has come to expect of Cornas, they combine power with elegance and finesse.
The Granit cuvées are grown on east-facing granite slopes and are made with mostly de-stemmed fruit. His prestigious La Geynale is one of only two south-facing slopes in Cornas (the other being Reynard), so it benefits from an especially warm microclimate. This cuvée, made from 100-year-old vines, is fermented using entirely whole-bunch; which brings perfume and crunch to match the power. All his Cornas wines promise a long, rewarding life in the cellar.
Cornas
Cornas is a small appellation, just 150 hectares, located south of St Joseph. It’s on the west side of the river. The name “Cornas” comes from an old Celtic dialect term, meaning “burnt land”, so it’s no surprise that on the steep terraces here, facing south, temperatures are significantly higher than those in Hermitage, which is just 7km away.
The granite soils are home to the Syrah grape, producing reds that sit somewhere between those of Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie. These are strong and powerful wines, with nervy acidity and a robust, rustic charm to them. Their prominent tannins mean that they often demand time in the cellar to express their underlying elegance and complexity.
Syrah/Shiraz
A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries.
It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness.
South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.
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Description
The steep vines here are located in Patou, Les Mazards and Saumon and their age runs the gamut from old-ish (35 years) to very old indeed (100 years). The grapes are mainly destemmed and the wine is a superb illustration of all that is great in Cornas; austere, yet generous, full-bodied and tannic, yet with a latent sweetness which will come to the fore over a number of years and provide a perfect contrast to burgeoning savoury characteristics.
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer
It makes a nice change to state that a winery is far from state-of-the-art; M Paris makes wine in the chaotic splendour behind a large but only half-built house in the backstreets of Cornas; so far, so unpromising. His wines, however, are sublime and it should come as no surprise that he has now joined the first rank of Cornas producers. This is more than appropriate and very good news for us, as we bought the wines from his Geynale vineyard when it was owned by his uncle Robert Michel, and have always considered it to be among the very best plots in the village. The 2013 Cornas Granit 60 Vielles Vignes is serious stuff. Inky colored and loaded with cassis, black raspberry, violets and licorice, it has beautiful acidity in its full-bodied, ripe, polished style. It has rock-solid mid-palate concentrated, and terrific length, so give it a handful of years in the cellar and drink bottles through 2025. Like all of Paris’s Cornas releases, it sees only older barrels.
Jeb Dunnuck - Wine Advocate Issue#216 Dec 2014
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