| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Rhône > Northern Rhône > Cornas |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
No Renaissance was produced in this vintage. Reminding me of the 2017, the 2022 Cornas reveals gorgeous red and black fruits, violets, bouquet garni, and gamey, iron-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has fine tannins, beautiful overall balance, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a gorgeous finish. This is well worth your time and money, and I'd be thrilled with bottles in the cellar. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following two decades. Drink 2030-2050.
Cask samples tasted at the domaine.Sample 1: Reynards.Wild and animal nose – the palate is earthy, with a ferruginous note. Rosemary, herbal garrigue and so much going on. There is a firm graphite element that really comes through.Sample 2: Mazards.Inky with dark cherry and rose. So much grip with firm and fine tannins, stony notes, dark chocolate and spice.Sample 3: Petite Côte.Dense and dark – like squid ink. Kirsch and sweet fruit on the palate with rounded, ample and supple tannins and bay leaf and herbs coming through on the finish – wonderful.Sample 4: Reynards Vieille Vignes.Baked cherry pie, kirsch and cocoa-nib nose. Ripe generous and fleshy fruit on the palate. There is a dark side to this wine, brooding yet still with electric energy beneath. 2030-2048
A tasting of various barrel samples suggests that the 2022 vintage here will be very good, if not necessarily the most powerful year. The fruit is quite dark in character and there's a good sense of purity if not the same freshness as 2021 or 2020, or the grandeur of 2019. Nonetheless, an excellent wine and a fairly typical expression of Clape Cornas. Tannins are ripe and elegant. 2030-2034
The 2022 Cornas isn't going to match the 2020, but we're not far off. Tasted in its individual components, it has the riper yet still focused, structured style of the vintage, with classic aromatics of blue fruits, violets, iron, and ample textbook Clape bloody, meaty nuances. It's not going to be a massive Cornas and is more medium to full-bodied, with ultra-fine tannins and beautiful balance. It's a brilliant Clape in the making, as well as one for the traditionalist out there.
