Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 41

CORNAS
275144

94 | Dom. Johann Michel

$80

2017 Cornas Jana ^ Johann Michel had
been selling his fruit to négociants when he
decided to install a tank in his garage and
try his hand at making his own wine in 1997.
Over the next few years he acquired more
vineyards, including a parcel in the lieudit Chaillot and more in Les Côtes, which
he planted with syrah cuttings he sourced
from Domaine Auguste Clape and Domaine
Courbis. He now farms just over ten acres,
and uses that young-vine fruit for Jana.
Whole-cluster fermented, its floral spice
and herbal hints give it a wild edge, even as
the structure feels tight and restrained. The
tannins have a ferrous grip, compacting the
cherry flavors. This needs years in the cellar
to relax and show its full potential. § Kysela
Père et Fils, Winchester, VA
275314

92 | Dumien-Serrette

2016 Cornas Patou ^ Nicolas Serrette farms
four acres in Cornas, and foot-stomps his
organically grown grapes in cement tanks.
This wine, off a parcel of 70-year-old vines in
a mix of sand and granite, is basket-pressed
and aged in used oak barrels. It feels a little untamed in its resinous herbal notes and
spicy acidity, as well as the peppery alcohol.
But those elements also give it an energizing
liveliness that's immediately appealing. That
brisk sense of freshness lasts, even after the
bottle has sat open for days. § North Berkeley
Imports, Berkeley, CA
275308

92 | Cave de Tain

$100

91 | Jean-Luc Colombo

$110

2017 Cornas Arènes Sauvages ^ Driven by
oak scents, this is lush and toasty, with pillowy tannins that accent its voluptuous feel.
They frame a center of sweet, grapey fruit,
the wine feeling young and unformed but full
of energy. Tuck this into the cellar for another
few years to see what detail time will bring. §
Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA
274773
2017 Cornas La Louvée Syrah ^ Made in
Colombo's clean, fruit-driven style, this is
spicy and red-berried, structured by fine,
polished tannins. Notes of earth and olive
emerge as it opens with air, hinting at the
complexity that should develop with cellar
time. § Taub Family Selections, Boca Raton, FL
275143

90 | Dom. Johann Michel

$52

2017 Cornas ^ A blend of syrah from both
the region's hillsides and the sandy flats,
this friendly Cornas is focused on fruit,
concentrated and purple, with enough

structure to maintain a long, elegant shape. §
Kysela Père et Fils, Winchester, VA
275101

90 | Cave de Tain

$60

2016 Cornas Grand Classique ^ Velvety and
warm, this offers a gentle embrace of soft
blackberry fruit and salty olive notes. It feels
very French in an old-school country way,
and would be delicious with a meaty lamb
stew. § Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA

COTE-ROTIE

275333

95 | Stéphane Ogier

$193

2015 Côte-Rôtie Lieu-Dit Côte-Bodin ^ A
tiny production (1,993 bottles) from a highdensity parcel planted in 1975 in mica-shist,
this offers a sense of light, wind and air that's
immediately transporting. It's something
about how clear and taut the raspberry fruit
feels, and how it carries notes of herbs, stones
and fir trees; it's in the coolness of the acidity, energizing and buoyant. Destemmed
and fermented in stainless-steel tanks, then
aged in neutral oak barrels, it's impressively
clear and precise, with a lasting firmness and
finesse. § Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL
274996

94 | Barruol Lynch

$88

2017 Côte-Rôtie La Dorée ^ Importer Kermit
Lynch selects this cuvée in a collaboration
with Louis Barruol of St-Cosme in Gigondas.
Their 2017 is a blend of 1.5 barrels, all from
Nève-Semons. It's so meaty it smells like a
lamb steak cooked over wood and barded
with resinous herbs, though there's fruit, too,
plummy and rich. Delicious now, this should
also age well. § Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant,
Berkeley, CA
273536

93 | E. Guigal

$175

2015 Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis ^ This
is a blend of fruit from seven of Guigal's
old-vine parcels in Côte-Rôtie, fermented
in stainless-steel tanks for four weeks, then
aged in new oak barrels for 38 months. The
wood influence is strident right now, in both
spicy, smoky scents as well as in grippy, dry
tannins. But the fruit is ripe and rich enough
to push against those wood tannins, promising to overtake them in time. § Vintus, Pleasantville, NY
275320

https://www.bodegagarzon.com/en/ http://www.stephaneogier.fr/

Wine & Spirits - February 2020

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