2021 Cornas Champelrose

Cassis, blackberries, toasted spices, cured meat, and subtle leather notes all emerge from the 2021 Cornas Champelrose, a concentrated, medium to full-bodied 2021 that has rock-solid mid-palate depth, ripe, velvety tannins, and a great finish. It's a textured, balanced, incredibly satisfying Cornas that can be drunk any time over the coming 10-12+ years. The Courbis brothers, Dominique and Laurent, continue to fashion brilliant wines. From their 33 hectares of vines spread between Cornas, Saint Joseph, Saint-Péray, and Vin de Pays, they produce three whites (two Saint Joseph and one Saint-Péray), three Cornas, and three Saint Joseph. As I’ve written in the past, the wines are quasi-modern with most being destemmed and a few of the top releases seeing a touch of new oak. Don’t let that scare you, though – these are pure, rich, concentrated wines that always hold onto a sense of place. Looking at the wines reviewed here, they’ve done an incredible job with their 2021s, and while they show the fresher style of the vintage, they have ample depth. These will benefit from just a few years of bottle age and are well worth seeking out. The 2022s are a step up, with another level of concentration, yet they bring enough tannins where the cellar is going to be your friend.