2011 Cornas La Geynale

The 2011 Cornas La Geynale (aged 18 months in barrel) offers a wild array of smoked meat, dusty stone, gunflint, pepper and dried herbs to go with loads of black raspberry and blackberry-styled fruit. Full-bodied, rich and with big structure, it has beautiful texture, no hard edges and serious length on the finish. Give it a couple years to round into form and enjoy it through 2031. An up and coming superstar of Cornas, Vincent Paris manages his roughly 20-acre estate to produce three Cornas; the Granit 30, which comes from younger vines located lower on the slope, in the lieu-dit Mazards; the Granite 60, which includes the older vines of the estate (and comes from steeper, higher elevation slopes); and the La Geynale, which comes from a single plot of 100-year-old vines located mostly in the Renard lieu-dit (it is also the only wine to not see any destemming). With regards to the Granit 30 and Granit 60, the number refers to the slope of the hill where the vines are planted, not the age of the vines. While 2011 and 2012 produced a bevy of more forward, moderately concentrated wines, both of these 2011s and 2012s buck that trend and offer serious depth and richness. They’re some of the top wines in the appellation and readers need to get on this young vigneron’s bandwagon! Importer: A Thomas Calder Selection (various importers). Paris fax: 011 33 1 46 45 15 29

Saturated ruby. Aromas of cassis, cherry compote, black olive and mocha, with a spicy topnote. Sappy and expansive, offering intense dark berry preserve flavors lifted and brightened by tangy acidity. Dusty tannins arrive late and add grip to a sweet, penetrating finish. Shows a surprisingly graceful, even feminine character for this bottling, which Paris says is typical of the vintage, "where the more delicate aspects of the wines are heightened, unlike '10 and '09, when it was the masculine qualities that stood out."

The 2011 Cornas La Geynale (aged 18 months in barrel) offers a wild array of smoked meat, dusty stone, gunflint, pepper and dried herbs to go with loads of black raspberry and blackberry-styled fruit. Full-bodied, rich and with big structure, it has beautiful texture, no hard edges and serious length on the finish. Give it a couple years to round into form and enjoy it through 2031. ||An up and coming superstar of Cornas, Vincent Paris manages his roughly 20-acre estate to produce three Cornas; the Granit 30, which comes from younger vines located lower on the slope, in the lieu-dit Mazards; the Granite 60, which includes the older vines of the estate (and comes from steeper, higher elevation slopes); and the La Geynale, which comes from a single plot of 100-year-old vines located mostly in the Renard lieu-dit (it is also the only wine to not see any destemming). With regards to the Granit 30 and Granit 60, the number refers to the slope of the hill where the vines are planted, not the age of the vines. While 2011 and 2012 produced a bevy of more forward, moderately concentrated wines, both of these 2011s and 2012s buck that trend and offer serious depth and richness. They’re some of the top wines in the appellation and readers need to get on this young vigneron’s bandwagon! Wine Advocate.December, 2013