Cornas

Stéphane now farms 15 parcels of Cornas, varying in size from small to very small to very small indeed. Nonetheless they run the stylistic gamut, from 50-year-old vines high on the plateau to steeper hillside plots to the south of the village. The decision on whether or not to de-stem is made parcel by parcel and the wine is matured in barriques of four years of age, bought from our mutual friends at Chateau la Nerthe.  Sweet and savoury notes vie for attention, teasing the palate with an odd osmotic rapport; the 2012 has distinctive notes of cocoa and bay, supported by liquorice, black pepper and game.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer

Stéphane Robert is pithy when describing the 2012 vintage; ‘tout est bon....pas de soucis’. It’s hard to argue with such an analysis, especially when tasting his wines.  The Roberts have built a wonderful chalet-like house with panoramic views of Cornas and beyond that Valance. It is close to the ruins of the eponymous railway tunnel, where they plan to build some kind of entertainment suite, although how they plan to do this is not quite clear. Their winery remains in the heart of St Peray and their wines are among the finest in the region.

A classic blend from vines of up to 55 years of age,
with 30 percent of the stems preserved in the
assemblage, this is an outstanding Cornas which
effortlessly combines rich, dark fruit with hints of
pepper, scrub, charcuterie and liquorice. The tannins
are poised and delicate, antithetical to the popular
concept of Cornas, yet gently, quietly persuasive and
running along the boardwalk of the wine’s powerful
and far from pedestrian appeal. Drink 2022-2028.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

Nicolas destemmed half the crop in 2016 and selected carefully, attentive to the possible impact of prolonged spring rainfall. Yields were reduced therefore, but there was no hail and no frost. Dense and dark, the wine has a hint of the sauvage behind the fruit, an edge which will guarantee the potential for lengthy cellaring and a fascinating evolution, at the culmination of which it should be relished with a game bird. Drink 2020-2025.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

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

Yves’ passion and energy is well-known and it was warming to see his reaction to our own enthusiasm for this cuvée, which was one we had not planned to buy. Like the best Cornas, it has a ‘lift’ to it with plenty of fresh, generous fruit. Easy on the ‘abv’ too, a really fine example of a Cornas that will develop very well mid-term.
Tom Cave - Cellar Plan Manager 

The Patou vineyards have yielded a ripe and warmly textured wine, with notes of cassis, eucalypt and mocha evidenced. Slight high-toned, the core of the wine is plump and reassuring.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer

Located in the shadows of the spire of the village’s impressive church, Domaine Dumien-Serrette is unassuming and understated, unlike the wines of course, which glory in ripeness and fruit. Gilbert Serrette blends from barrique and larger vats, filled at this stage with the fruits that are distinguished only by whether or not their vines were located en coteau or en demi-coteau. He cites 2011 as an easier and less rustic vintage than 2010; the chronology and tempo of its evolution set in train by a rapid harvest on 14^th and 15^th September.

Rhône 2009 - Berrys Recommends
50+ year old vines show their class in Dom. du Tunnel Cornas wine. Pure, dark blackcurrant fruit bursts from the glass, followed by a classy, velvety palate, brimming with light black pepper and ripe fruits. The finish is mouthfilling as one hopes from Cornas, but equally elegant. Great balance and complexity at this price.
(Hamish Orr-Ewing,  BBR Fine Wine) No fewer than fifteen parcels, some with 50-year-old-vines, are assembled in Stephane’s Cornas, which was bottled at the end of 2010. Lavender, licorice and a wild hint are all characteristics of the wine, together with traditionally powerful tannins and an elegant finish, perhaps a little less traditional for Cornas.

Granit 60 is a helpful name to be sure as it describes both the soil type and the gradient of the Parisian vineyard. The wine impresses with its nose of bay, black olives and dark fruit. It seems more energetic than its forebears, with sweet hedgerow myrtle fruit and graphite tannins.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer

The youthful nephew of Berry Bros. & Rudd favourite Robert Michel, who is now retired, is taking on something of an eminence grise persona himself these days, running the Syndicate of Cornas with great skill. It helps to have such fine vineyards of course, many of them inherited. 2011 he views as a less tannic but more aromatic vintage than 2010, to his liking in other words, as he often states that aromatic harmony is the key to a great Cornas.

Very dark and serious on the nose, with minerality this is typically Cornas. Savoury and structured on the palate, this is tannic but very well-integrated. There's plenty of fruit to balance the structure. Quite a bit going on, a very interesting wine.
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager

Damien has been doing a lot of work in Cornas and has singled out this plot just to the south of the village for his special attention. They call the decomposed granite ‘gore’ in these parts, for reasons which are not immediately apparent, but it certainly underwrites the power of the wine, which will have had 14 months in barrel when the time comes for it to be bottled.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer

Ferreton’s renaissance continues apace; Chapoutier ownership has in no way dulled its distinctive voice and in Damien Brissett it has a world-class winemaker. With such prestigious vineyards on the hill of Hermitage (and elsewhere) Ferraton is careful to manage the distinction between its owned vines and those worked in partnership as a high-class négoçiant.  Whilst we are drawn, somewhat inevitably, towards the former, as our selection confirms, there is no denying the excellent quality of the entire range.

Until 31st August this product is discounted by 30%*

A streamlined Cornas, with tension as well as a wealth of fine fruit – nothing at all overdone or out of kilter like some wines from this area which can be just too dense. South facing vines keeping their cool due to their high altitude seems to be the trick – a fine Cornas from one of Hermitage’s lesser-known lights and terrific value too.
Tom Cave, Cellar Plan Manager

From the named lieu-dit to the north of the named village, this is a worthy illustration of both the skill of the winemaker and the renaissance of Cornas in general. Herbal and rich, with hints of jambon cru and liqueur-steeped cherry, Les Eygats marries sweet and savoury, Carnival and Lent, with effortless aplomb.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer

Ferraton is owned by Chapoutier, but run as an autonomous entity. For a long time it seemed to underperform, almost as if shocked in the headlights of the energetic charisma of its benefactor. The potential of the vineyards, some of which are located on the very best sites on the Hill of Hermitage, has never been disputed. Now, with Bordelais winemaker Damien Brisset firmly in control, one begins to see, at last, the realisation of potential. I am pleased to have ‘stuck with’ them over the years, as the maturing vintages seldom fail to please and the quality of the current vintage gets better and better. 


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La Geynale is a four hectare south-facing vineyard perched immediately above the village and made up of soils of granite and crumbled loess. Robert Michel has now retired and Vincent is now stamping his identity on the wine, to outstanding effect here! Dark, dark fruit, a massive block of tannin and dark savoury fruit lurking beneath. One of my favourite wines of the entire week spent in the North.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer, February 2012

Our relationship with Vincent Paris, the unassuming but talented nephew of Robert Michel, was momentarily threatened by what we felt to be far too much volatile acidity in his 2008 wines. Fortunately the error was both acknowledged and rectified; only the very able can be so humble in contrition, and the subsequent vintages have both been magnificent. Having such ideally-located vineyards is, of course, rather helpful in this regard.

Granit 30 is an appropriate name, describing, as it does, both the soil and the gradient of the Parisian vineyard. Vincent’s wines are marked by both their perfume and their purity, and this is a very fine example. The wine boasts aromatics of violets, liquorice and garrigue; followed by a weighty palate, with herbs, dark chocolate and a fruit character of dark cherry and myrtle. Drink 2020-2028.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

The fruit here is predominately from La Geynale, as one would expect, but with a little added magic from Les Reynards, with stems added. This wine will approximate perfection for those who rejoice in Cornas from the pre-post-structuralist school. Ripeness and aromatic complexity are taken as red with this producer (although, to be fair, he does make a little white); here he adds profundity, tension and intimations of greatness, not necessarily in that order. Drink 2022-2030+.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

The slopes are even steeper for this wine, with grapes sourced from the most precipitous corners of the three lieux-dits Patou, Mazard and Sauman. The Granit 60 has been 75 percent de-stemmed and aged for just over a year in old barrique. One of the most haunting aromas of all, the wine beguiles with notes of violet, wood smoke and fresh incense. The fruit holds court for the moment; it is from the darker end of the spectrum, quixotic and dignified, intimating a scenic and slowly-paced voyage towards maturity. Drink 2022-2030+.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

Eponymous slopes, suitably adroit, from the near homophone lieu-dit, Les Chailles, host one of Alain’s most sublime pieces of work. Syrah is seldom as expressive in youth, and after only a little time in glass it will cede a cornucopia of woodland magic. Oak plays its part, but discretely, diplomatically, as the fruit rejoins an almost painfully eloquent soliloquy. Drink 2022-2030+.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

The Chailles is sourced from 12 different plots on granitic terraces, mainly above the village itself. After a generous four week maceration, it is aged for sixteen months in cask, the wood generally five or six years old. The wine is tightly sprung, with aromatics of violets, raspberry and bitumen and then a core which is rich, ripe and generously textured.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer

Alain Voge is one of the doyens of Cornas. He was unwell when I last visited in November, so we all wish him well. His long-standing and highly able partner Albéric de Mazoyer has kept the ship afloat with his customary brilliance and 2012 looks brilliant indeed, especially at the top end of this range. He praises the vintage for its charm and concentration, citing it as a year that is low on yield, high on aromatics and very high on quality.

More masculine, study and robust, the Vieilles Vignes cuvée is far closer to most people’s idea of a typical Cornas. Meaty, rich and tannic, this is definitely a keeper and the age of its vines vary from 25 to 90-yearsold. Powerful and glorious, it is sourced from plots in Chaillot, Les Mezards and Les Reynards.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer

Clape, Michel, Juge, Voge… There is a hypnotic monosyllabic magic to some of the great names of Cornas in days of yore and both Voge and Clape continue to fly the flag and do so with great aplomb. Fiercely traditional and yet disarmingly modern, these wines provide the key to the reputation of the Cornas that was and the outstanding quality of the Cornas that is now.

Aged for 20 months and the fruit of suitably old vines, mainly from the lieux-dits of Mazard and La Côte, this is an outstanding wine. Traditional in its saturnine flavour profile, autumnal and profound, yet forward-looking in its structure; its architectural integrity presages a more than satisfactory evolution. Drink 2022-2030+.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

The vines for this wine are located mainly in the lieux-dits of Chaillot and Les Reynards. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and then matured in cask for 18 months. Stylish and feminine, the wine has a high-toned dark fruit and plush, expensive tannins; the perfume is memorable as with all great wines from this oft misunderstood appellation.
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer

Albéric Mazoyer, the charismatic sidekick to Alain Voge, is positive about 2013: there was no hail in Cornas and the late growing cycle was actually beneficial in this, the warmest of the northern enclaves, concentrating flavour but eschewing excess of any kind. The results are as spectacular as the volumes are scant.