Cornas, Reynard
    Thierry Allemand

    Cornas, Reynard,

    Destination

    vintage

    Thierry Allemand, Cornas, Reynard, 2005

    Justerini & Brooks Tasting note
    Thierry Allemand, Cornas, Reynard, 2005

    An old vine cuvée that is a blend of wine from the Reynard vineyard and some of the Domaine's other smaller parcels, this is perfumed, exuberant and as exciting and complex as Cornas can get. Scents of violet and cherry combined with flavours of rich blackberry notes set in a velvety, sumptuous tannic framework. For the long term.

    Maturity:
    Keep
    ABV:
    13%
    95/100
    Josh Raynolds, Vinous
    (this is essentially the Chaillot with the addition of old-vines Reynard) Opaque purple. Explosive, room-filling bouquet of ripe blue and black fruits, fresh flowers, Asian spices and smoky minerals. Deep, sweet and velvety, with bracing cassis and boysenberry flavors, amazing mineral lift and hefty but fine-grained tannins. Extremely impressive and built to repay extended cellaring. (Allemand's 2006s were scheduled to be bottled in early December, two weeks after my visit. I tasted three stunning lots, with the Reynard especially palate-staining, but Allemand had not yet decided how he could combine these three components into two bottlings.)
    Date Reviewed:
    01/2008

    specifications

    country:
    France
    region:
    Rhone
    Appellation:
    Cornas
    Producer:
    Thierry Allemand
    style:
    Red
    Grape Variety:
    Syrah
    Allergen Information:
    This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.

    Rhone

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    Thierry Allemand

    Thierry Allemand

    Thierry continues to make Cornas of majestic quality and is one of the few growers to shun the use of new oak barrels when raising his wines before bottling. Sadly many others have been badly advised – as Thierry so succinctly put it: “New oak doesn’t give anything to Cornas except faults.” Grapes are fermented as whole bunches, sulphur usage is as low as possible and the wines are aged in old oak barrels for 18-24 months depending on the vintage. His Cornas Chaillot is a blend of young vines and 20- to 40-year-old vines usually characterised by juicy blackberry and damson flavours with hints of pepper and chocolate. The Reynard is a cuvée made just from old vines that attacks the palate with its deep concentration of black olive, blackcurrant and intensely mineral, saline flavours. They both have the distinctive class and breed of great wines from a great grower.

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