Cornas & St-Péray 2023: Report and top-scoring wines
The 2023 vintage returned Cornas wines of more classical proportions, finds Matt Walls, while the whites of St-Péray were a reminder of less powerful years too.
Olivier Clape of Domaine Clape sees 2023 as ‘like what we used to have,’ a return to wines of classical proportions compared to some of the very ripe, exaggerated wines of recent years.
‘OK, it’s rainy and you have to fight the mildew and everything, but in the end it’s worth it,’ says Clape.
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It’s a distinctly herbal expression of Syrah this year, the wines are strict, mineral and refreshing rather than hugely concentrated.
For Fabrice Gripa of Domaine Bernard Gripa, ‘2023 was a hard vintage, but the results are not that bad… It’s a vintage where it’s possible to make very good wine, but it’s a question of what we keep and what we don’t.’
It’s not the richest, most full-bodied vintage in St-Péray, it’s not as concentrated as 2019 or 2022, but I like its finesse.
Gripa compares it to the ‘fine, elegant, less powerful years’ of 1999 and 2006.
Rhône 2023 full report and top-scoring wines
Key Cornas & St-Péray producers in 2023
- Domaine Bernard Gripa – St-Péray
- M Chapoutier – St-Péray
- Domaine Clape – Cornas
- Domaine Vincent Paris – Cornas
Best-value Cornas & St-Péray wines in 2023
- Domaine Dumien-Serrette, Patou, Cornas 2023
- Domaine Vincent Paris, Granit 60, Cornas 2023
- M Chapoutier, Haut Chamblard, St-Péray 2023
Under-the-radar Cornas & St-Péray producers in 2023
- Cave de Tain
- Domaine A&E Verset
- Domaine Dumien Serrette
Northern Rhône 2023: The connoisseur’s guide
Southern Rhône 2023: The connoisseur’s guide
Compare vintages: See our coverage of Cornas & St-Péray from previous years
Cornas & St-Péray 2022: Report and top-scoring wines
Cornas & St-Péray 2021: Report and top-scoring wines
Cornas & St-Péray 2020: Report and top-scoring wines
Top-scoring Cornas & St-Péray wines in 2023:
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M Chapoutier, Haut Chamblard, St-Péray, Rhône, France, 2023
Lovely mineral intensity. Touch of smokiness on the nose, this is so fresh, with perfect balance and a long, focused, saline finish. Lieu-dit Chablard, granitic...
2023
M ChapoutierSt-Péray
M Chapoutier, Lieu-dit Hongrie, St-Péray, Rhône, France, 2023
Crème anglaise and pineapple. Lovely acidity, very fresh, very intense. Oak is present but well balanced, lending some shape and complexity. Really shows its class...
2023
M ChapoutierSt-Péray
Domaine Bernard Gripa, Les Figuiers, St-Péray, Rhône, France, 2023
Lovely perfume, very bright and attractive. Full-bodied, acidity is fairly low but not unbalanced, with a good sense of brightness to the pear flavours. A...
2023
Domaine Bernard GripaSt-Péray
Cave de Tain, Fleur de Roc, St-Péray, Rhône, France, 2023
Subtle white florals and citrus peels, then tight and saline on the palate. Nicely reined in by smart oak work, and finishes fresh. Precision and...
2023
Cave de TainSt-Péray
Domaine A&E Verset, St-Péray, Rhône, France, 2023
Pear and honeysuckle, with a sweet core of fruit, lovely extract and a touch of structural tannin. Ripe, fresh and well balanced, with a nutty...
2023
Domaine A&E VersetSt-Péray
Domaine Bernard Gripa, Les Pins, St-Péray, Rhône, France, 2023
This has the classic fullness and generosity of St-Péray along with bright acidity and a sandy mineral note. Balanced and fine, good length.
2023
Domaine Bernard GripaSt-Péray
Domaine Clape, St-Péray, Rhône, France, 2023
Honeysuckle and lime flower, with lovely naturalistic acidity. Not the most concentrated vintage of this cuvée, but it's nonetheless lovely in 2023 due to its...
2023
Domaine ClapeSt-Péray
Domaine Clape, Cornas, Rhône, France, 2023
A tasting of the constituent parts, so this is a provisional score. The 2023 is less ripe in style than the 2022. It has plentiful...
2023
Domaine ClapeCornas
Domaine Vincent Paris, La Geynale, Cornas, Rhône, France, 2023
Beautiful nose, very lifted, with violets, black olive, blackberry and cassis. Has a good sense of fullness and ripeness on the palate – it's full,...
2023
Domaine Vincent ParisCornas
Alain Voge, Les Vieilles Vignes, Cornas, Rhône, France, 2023
Rosemary, woodsmoke and almond scents. Good weight of fruit, more concentrated than most 2023 Cornas. Bright, glinting acidity and a saline edge, with a long...
2023
Alain VogeCornas
Domaine A&E Verset, Signature, Cornas, Rhône, France, 2023
Floral, aromatic perfume. Very elegant tannins, relatively light in structure for this vineyard (La Geynale). You could drink this now! A compact and energetic style,...
2023
Domaine A&E VersetCornas
Domaine Vincent Paris, Granit 60, Cornas, Rhône, France, 2023
Granit 60 is considerably darker than Granit 30. This has lovely blackberry and cassis notes, with a touch of blackberry eau-de-vie. It has a good...
2023
Domaine Vincent ParisCornas
M Chapoutier, Temenos, Cornas, Rhône, France, 2023
Good intensity, very tight and with great saline drive. This is a very graceful, sleek and pure expression of Cornas – powerful, structured and fresh....
2023
M ChapoutierCornas
Franck Balthazar, Chaillot, Cornas, Rhône, France, 2023
Juicier and fruitier than the herbal Casimir, with more pronounced acidity and fruit and a touch of menthol. This vintage is more about precision and...
2023
Franck BalthazarCornas
Franck Balthazar, Juliette, Cornas, Rhône, France, 2023
Even more peppery than Balthazar’s other cuvées this year, this is a brisk, light-bodied style of Cornas, very herbal and peppery, with lovely acidity and...
2023
Franck BalthazarCornas
Dumien-Serrette, Patou, Cornas, Rhône, France, 2023
Menthol, iodine, blackcurrant and thyme notes, with some bold tannins and good acidity. It's lean, but has good Cornas structure, energy and focus. It’s not...
2023
Dumien-SerretteCornas
Thomas Farge, Les Versantes, Cornas, Rhône, France, 2023
Smoky herbs and enjoyably fresh. The tannins are very tight and edgy though – really tannic! These will certainly need more time to soften, but...
2023
Thomas FargeCornas
