Cornas 2019: Report and top scoring wines

It has a nice balance between ripe fruit and some earthier, herbal scents. Very ripe, pure, concentrated. This has more class than most this year, it's well balanced, even if really very ripe and vibrant. Tannins are robust, ripe, plentiful, fruit-derived, finer than most. Long finish. 50-year-old vines on very steep slopes, 70% destemmed. No pigeage, natural yeasts. Wine spends 16 months in two to eight-year-old barrels. 5,000 bottles made.

Aromas of cocoa nibs, sandalwood and cedar over pronounced blackcurrant notes. This is a soft and easy-going style of Cornas which has more tannin and salinity than their Classique cuvée this year. This makes for a more satisfying and structured wine that has a good sense of intensity in the mouth. Ripe and rich, this is very good for the vintage.

Grown on the granite slopes of lieu-dit La Geynale, one of the finest of the appellation. The whole bunch really gives lift and brightness to the aromas here, the fruit is very ripe. Juicy, full-bodied, very concentrated. Tannins are fine, massy, mouthcoating, the wine is saturated with ripe tannin. There is some fibrous stalk tannin as well. A big wine, very ripe, that will take time to soften, but probably not age for as long as recent vintages. Gorgeous nose, very ripe, juicy fruit, and a powerful, slightly green finish. Great depth is present and correct, but I worry about the texture of the tannins this year, and the intense ripeness. To revisit once in bottle. 100-year-old vines. No destemming. Five-day cold maceration, then fermented with wild yeasts. Twice daily remontage, no punching down, then aged for 16 months in two to eight-year-old barriques. 5,000 bottles made.

Spicy, with a dark chocolate note on the nose. Soft and yielding, ripe and juicy on the palate, with velvety tannins that have melted seamlessly into the wine. The use of stems helps to provide some backbone.

Lovely ripe freshness to the fruit, really bright summer pudding aromas. Mouthcoating fruit and tannin, very fine tannin. Acidity is surprisingly marked. Plenty of ripe tannins, they're quite lively, textural, fruit-derived. Very juicy, very fruity, concentrated and ripe. No great depth, very accessible. 10-year-old vines, all destemmed.

A grilled, roasted, charred aromatic display, burnt herbs. Very full-bodied, very rich and opulent. Mouthcoating ripe tannin. It's very modern in style, with some cola and black cherry coulis in the background. Powerful and relatively well balanced for a 2019 Cornas. The oak does appear quite robust, but it works. Good length.

Fresh and brooding, with an inner meatiness. Very full-bodied, very powerful, but soft and yielding, pliable tannins. Mouth-coating, rich, sweet succulence to the tannins. Long finish. Good - savoury, powerful. Should age quite well. Second vintage. Blend of Reynard, Mazards and Saint-Pierre. All bought grapes.

The bottling previously known as 'Coteau', which has since dropped its cuvée name. The iron tang in the fruit certainly points this towards Cornas in origin, the bloodiness of the tannins. Full-bodied, but no heaviness, this has a good sense of freshness and vibrancy to the fruit, and a long finish. The alcohol is raised, as is typical for the vintage, but it's not heavy or raisined. Long. Oak is kept in check. Drink young.

Intense on the nose, a touch of char and cola. Very full-bodied, but there is some inner freshness and acidity. Tannins are plentiful, very ripe. It's very bold and modern, very ripe. Good for the vintage.

Touch of graphite and some florality on the nose ground into the ripe berry fruit. Very round and ripe, with a touch of menthol in the background. Tannins are massy, gently fibrous, but not aggressive or particularly massive. A bit too easy-going, if anything (for a Cornas). Just a little herbaceous on the finish. Thirty -year-old vines, not destemmed.

Dark, herbal, brooding. Very full-bodied, it has firm tannins - savoury, saline tannins that are very Cornas. Structurally this is more correct than most in 2019. Powerful, dense, not overoaked. Very long. There is some depth here. Savoury, massive, grand, almost baroque. Will be good in time. Partial destemming.

From an east-facing parcel of 70-year-old vines, all destemmed and aged in barriques, 50% new. A very ripe style, with dried fig and dark chocolate, a touch of fruitcake. Full-bodied but accessible - tannins are soft enough to drink this already. There's enough acidity to keep things moving, and some ingrained spice bringing complexity. A Cornas to drink young.

Some freshness and lively spiciness to the very ripe fruit. Very full-bodied, very concentrated, quite heavy. There is some freshness deep at the wines's core however, which gives it depth and length, and more ageability than some this year. Long finish, very pure, but very ripe indeed. I would drink young.