2013 Cornas, Domaine du Tunnel, Rhône

2013 Cornas, Domaine du Tunnel, Rhône

Product: 20138008033
 
2013 Cornas, Domaine du Tunnel, Rhône

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX

Description

This wine is sourced from 15 mini-parcels, all granitic and all Syrah, needless to say. The average age of the vines is over 50 years and the ageing, in used barrels, which are marginally younger than those for the St Joseph, lasts for 14 months. The house style is plush and velvety but behind this, as with all the best Cornas, there is something a little rawer, more ‘sauvage’ as they like to say locally, as in a very noble sauvage it transpires.
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer

The news from Domaine du Tunnel is that the eponymous (disused railway) tunnel has almost been renovated by M Robert and will house a naturally cool—in both senses of the word—bottling cellar and tasting room, up in the hills above St Péray. This charming and very welcoming family continue to make great wines and were lucky enough to avoid hail in 2013; the resulting wines are excellent, with the whites boasting freshness and definition while the reds are pleasingly forward. The inky colored 2013 Cornas is another stunner from this estate. Classic Cornas in its mineral-drenched dark fruits, leather, peppery herbs and gaminess, it’s medium to full-bodied, concentrated and chewy, with ripe tannin. It has a seamlessness and elegance to it that should allow it to drink nicely on releases, but it will have 10-15 years of longevity.
Jeb Dunnuck - Wine Advocate Issue#216 Dec 2014

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

About this WINE

Domaine Du Tunnel

Domaine Du Tunnel

Located in a somewhat anonymous back-street of St Peray in Rhone, Domaine Du Tunnel is forging a reputation as one of the leading wine producers in newly rejuvenated villages of St Peray and Cornas, both famous through history and throughout France for making, respectively, excellent white and red wines.

Now, with the savoir faire of young vignerons such as Stéphane Robert, this reputation is set to achieve more international recognition.

Stephane began building this domain in 1994, when he was 24. He now works with 3ha in Cornas, 2.5 in Saint Joseph and 2 in Saint Peray, most of which he owns Aiming for wines which are characterised by fruit intensity rather than oak

Find out more
Cornas

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.

Find out more
Syrah/Shiraz

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.

Find out more