2015 Cornas St Pierre
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Tasting notes
(20% new oak) Dark purple. Powerful, mineral- and smoke-accented blueberry, cola and olive aromas pick up licorice and incense accents with air. Appealingly sweet, palate-staining black and blue fruit and violet pastille flavors deepen steadily on the back half while retaining energy and focus. Smoothly balances richness and finesse, while a vibrant mineral quality adds cut to the impressively long, sweet finish.
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Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The inky colored 2015 Cornas Domaine De Saint Pierre is another full-bodied, concentrated, tannic wine that’s not for those looking for instant gratification. Blackcurrants, toasted spice, chocolate, and scorched earth, and graphite notes all emerge from the glass. It needs 3-5 years of bottle age and will keep for another 10-12 years. If anyone had any doubts about the incredible turn around in quality this estate has seen since being taken over by Caroline Frey and winemaker Jacques Desvernois in 2006, these latest 2015s should put those doubts to rest. This is unquestionably the finest set of releases I’ve tasted from the estate, and the top reds rival, and in a number of cases surpass, the 2009s and 2010s. While the lineup remains relatively unchanged, the La Petite Chapelle has been done away with and is replaced by the La Maison Bleue cuvee, which driven by vineyards located on the eastern side of Hermitage Hill, as opposed to being a second wine for the La Chapelle cuvee. I continue to think the whites could use more richness and opulence, yet they’re impeccably made and carry their fresher, vibrant style nicely.
The 2015 Cornas Domaine de Saint Pierre is a full-bodied, concentrated wine that brings the essence of Cornas to the bottle in its scents of crushed stones and firm, tannic finish. Hints of toasted almond and mocha give it a gloss of modernity, but its red plum fruit, hints of iron or blood, and sturdy feel bring it right back to the appellation's granite slopes.
The 2015 reds from the Northern Rhône are truly spectacular and this vintage rivals or surpasses the 2010s and 2009s. The 2015 Cornas Domaine de Saint-Pierre is an absolute blockbuster that blew me away. Readers looking for a wine that tastes like the essence of these steep, wild, granite hillsides need to latch on to this. Black olives, beef blood, cassis, smoked meat and pepper all emerge from this big, backwards, full-bodied and concentrated beauty. It’s going to need 4-5 years of bottle age to be drinkable. Dec 2016, www.robertparker.com