Cornas

TERROIR

This wine, produced solely in superb vintages, comes from a plot of vines aged 80 years old, planted on a magnificent granite terroir. The vines, with their roots set deep down, produce grapes of outstanding expression.

2023 VINTAGE

After the frost of 2021 and the drought of 2022, it was reasonable to hope for a season without incident for the vines.
This vintage, although very different from the previous two, was once again a vintage of challenges, perseverance, and humility.
While 2022 was marked by a lack of water, the 2023 vintage was characterized by very heavy thunderstorms and, in some areas, hail, particularly in the high-altitude vineyards of St Pierre, reducing the harvest but above all leaving the foliage damaged and greatly diminished, impacting the peaceful ripening of the grapes.
Despite the complexity of this season, at the end of July, the historic plots of old vines looked very promising, as they were little affected by hail, healthy, and ultimately well watered by the storms.
However, this was without taking into account the sudden heatwave in August, which, in just a few days, caused much of the foliage and grapes to dry out, reduced acidity to very low levels, and blocked photosynthesis and therefore the migration of sugars.
Eager to bring the season to a close, we began harvesting at the end of August and finished at the end of September. The grapes were sorted with particular care this year; fermentation, which is carried out by fungi, is proceeding under favorable conditions.
A few months later, tasting the wines reassures us.
Despite exceptionally low acidity levels, both the whites and the reds are up to par: the fruit is present, the wines are balanced, and the tannins are ripe. The exceptional quality of the terroirs on the one hand, and the rigorous and persistent work on the other, have given rise to this astonishing vintage! To be continued...

OUR VINE GROWING AND WINEMAKING

• Organic certification for the vines and wine in the 2016 vintage and biodynamic methods used.
• Syrah vines trained and pruned in the Gobelet style and supported by stakes.
• Hand-picked harvests.
• Partial destemming with 30 % whole grapes.
• Fermentation with natural yeasts and maceration for several weeks in stainless steel vats, with daily cap-punching and pumping over.
• Maturation in 228-litre barrels for 24 months, with 15% to 20% new barrels.
• Amount of sulphite reduced: 81 mg/l total SO₂ (100 mg/litre authorised in organic winemaking)
• Production: 2.432 bottles
• Ageing potential: 25 years

THE ATMOSPHERE…

The dish:

Deer in Sake-lees

The Chef(fe)

Anne-Sophie Pic, Anne-Sophie Pic restaurant, Valence

… COMMENTS

2010 Vintage: “One of the few perfect Cornas wines I have ever tasted is the 2010 Cornas Les Vieilles Fontaines. Even better than it was last year from barrel, (…), it remains the most backward wine of this trio, boasting an extraordinary black/purple colour as well as a remarkable perfume of spring flowers, crushed rocks, lead pencil shavings, blueberry and blackberry liqueur, licorice and truffles. Deep, full-bodied, tannic and backward with everything perfectly integrated into its personality, this is a monumental Northern Rhone. Give it several years of bottle age and drink it over the following 25-30+ years.”

Robert M. Parker Jr. – Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (27/12/2012): 100/100


2023 Vintage: “ Lastly and coming from a tiny portion of the Les Côtes lieu-dit (La Fontaine), the 2023 Cornas Vieilles Fontaines was 70% destemmed and is still resting in 20% new barrels. Cassis, liquid violets, orange zest, and exotic floral notes all emerge from the glass, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, elegant, layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's a ripe yet classy Cornas in the making and will be well worth seeking out.”