2015 Cornas La Geynale

(made entirely with whole clusters and no new oak) Inky ruby. A potent, highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, cherry liqueur, incense and candied violet, and a smoky mineral nuance builds in the glass. Sweet, seamless and focused on the palate, offering deeply concentrated blueberry, cherry liqueur and floral pastille flavors and a strong suggestion of fruitcake. In a powerful yet almost shockingly graceful style, displaying superb detail and focus on an impressively long, floral- and mineral-dominated finish.

The most traditional in style, with tons of peppery herbs, beef blood, iodine and violet aromas and flavors, as well as awesome amounts of black and blue fruit, the 2015 Cornas La Geynale comes from the oldest vines and steepest parcels of the estate, was not destemmed and spent 15 months in a variety of mostly used barrels and tanks. It's the finest wine made from this up and coming superstar (it surpasses the 2010) and offers a huge, full-bodied profile, thrilling purity of fruit, serious amounts of tannin (they're sweet, but there's lots of them) and a blockbuster finish. Forget bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades or more. The wines from the young Vincent Paris (who is now co-president of the Cornas Appellation) continue to get better and better every year, and he’s produced brilliant wines in both 2015 and 2016. It’s important to understand the three Cornas cuvées: Granite 30, Granite 60, and La Geynale. The Granite 30 is a younger vine cuvée from less steep hillside parcels (roughly 30 degrees), and it’s mostly destemmed and brought up in a mix of mostly used barrels. There are about 1,000 cases produced. The Granite 60 comes from older vines in the Patou, Les Mazards and Sauman lieux-dits, and steep slopes (60 degrees). This cuvée sees some stem inclusion and a similar time in mostly used barrels. This cuvée is normally a solid step up in depth and quality over the Granite 30. Roughly 400 cases is a normal production level for this release. Lastly, the La Geynale comes from the oldest vines of the estate, which were planted in 1910 and are located in the Geynale and Reynard lieux-dit. This cuvée sees very little destemming and is aged in, again, mostly neutral barrels. This is always the most backward, classically styled release in the lineup and takes a few years to integrate its stems. Nevertheless, it’s an incredible Cornas.

Paris’ 2015 Cornas la Geynale comes from the south-facing parcel of the same name and from 100-year-old vines. It’s hugely concentrated and rich yet firm and austere, showing off its granite pedigree. Licorice, plum and crushed stone notes promise much for the future, but unless you’re a big-time tannin pig this mouth-drying wine demands cellaring. Dec 2017, www.robertparker.com