Domaine Thierry Allemand

Thierry Allemand is a legendary figure in Cornas and the Northern Rhône. Unlike many winemakers, he had no privileged background—his father worked in a factory in Valence. Growing up among the steep vineyards above the village, he became determined to make wine.

He began learning from Joseph Michel in 1981 and gradually acquired vineyards, starting with La Côte in 1982 and Chaillot in 1984. The land was difficult to cultivate, often overgrown with trees, but through sheer hard work, he restored abandoned plots. His dedication caught the eye of Cornas legend Noël Verset, who sold him prized parcels of Reynard along with his brother Louis.

Initially, from 1987 to 1991, Thierry sold his wine to a négociant, but when they refused to pay a fair price, he bottled his own Cornas Chaillot and Cornas Reynard cuvées. Though these wines were named after specific vineyards, they were always blends from Cornas’s slopes. In 2019, labelling laws forced a name change—now, in true Allemand style, they are called Cuvée ‘C’ and Cuvée ‘R’.

A private and dedicated winemaker, Thierry preferred tending his vines to the spotlight. Those who tasted with him in his rustic cellar experienced his wit, charm, and undeniable brilliance. Today, his son Théo carries the torch, making his first full vintage in 2021 and continuing the legacy of this extraordinary domaine.

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.