Walls: 10 exciting estates to know in Cornas
Matt Walls highlights 10 must-know estates in the Northern Rhône appellation of Cornas. Whether you're looking for texture and density, purity and elegance or power and structure, these top producers offer ageworthy Syrah in a variety of styles.
More reliable than St-Joseph, more powerful than Côte-Rôtie and often cheaper than Hermitage, Cornas has become the go-to appellation in the Northern Rhône for those looking for granitic, ageworthy Syrah that won’t break the bank.
I’ve selected 10 estates that you need to know about, all based in (or very close to) the village of Cornas itself.
It’s not an exhaustive list of top estates – today there are 50 private domaines and another 25 negociants bottling Cornas – but they all make excellent expressions of Cornas in their respective styles.
Top 10 Cornas wine estates worth knowing:
Domaine Clape
There is no estate more closely associated with Cornas than Domaine Clape. But does it deserve this renown? The answer to that is a resounding yes. The Clape family has been embedded in the appellation for generations, and their wines capture the spirit of Cornas like few others.
They own vineyards in some of the best lieux-dits, including a parcel of 100-year-old vines in the sacred lieu-dit Reynard. Methods are resolutely traditional, fermenting whole bunches in unlined concrete tanks, followed by a two-year maturation in small old foudres in the black cellar below the house.
The grand vin is an elemental wine that begins to show its best after 10 years in bottle, and can easily last twice that. It’s a wine that strongly reflects the vintage, so it always has something to say – and can sometimes take your breath away with its extraordinary savoury complexity. It never shies away from the serrated tannins that this terroir creates – these are deeply textural wines, like stroking a hedgehog.
In 1997 the domaine’s unnamed Cornas grand vin was joined by a second wine, Renaissance. It also makes a Côtes-du-Rhône, a less ageworthy Syrah but still in the Clape style, and a Vin de France Syrah called Vin des Amis. And if it weren’t famous for its Cornas, it would be for its brilliant St-Péray.
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Domaine Thierry Allemand
Thierry Allemand has been making wine for 40 years, and in that time his wines have become the most sought after and expensive in the appellation. He joined one of the great winemakers of his era, Joseph Michel, as an assistant in 1982, where he learnt a deeply traditional approach.
In his early years he worked incessantly in order to build up his own holdings, not taking a holiday in 12 years, and has gradually managed to piece together 5ha of vineyards. He’s now in the process of handing over to his son, Theo.
The range is small but can be confusing. They make two main cuvées, Chaillots and Reynard. Though they are both named after famous lieux-dits, they are not single vineyard wines. Chaillots is made from the younger vines of the entire estate (around 40 years old), and Reynard from all their older vines (some over 100 years old).
It was arguably his Sans Souffre (no added sulfites) cuvée that really put the estate on the map, but the last vintage for this was 2014.
The Spéciale Cuvée is yet to be released commercially, but a bottle tasted recently confirms that it encapsulates the beautiful purity and elegance for which this estate is justly famous.
Domaine Franck Balthazar
Like Clape, the name Balthazar is also deeply entwined with the wines of Cornas. The estate was established in 1931 by Casimir Balthazar, handed down to his son René, and is now in the hands of René’s son Franck. Since 2002, Franck has expanded the domaine from 2ha to 3.5ha and he has achieved organic certification.
The jewel in the crown is the parcel of Chaillots, now over 100 years old, but his Sans Souffre Ajouté (no added sulfites) cuvée can be just as compelling. The style here is traditional though a little less structured than some, a little more juicily approachable – but no less Cornas.
Domaine Vincent Paris
A relatively new domaine in Cornas, Vincent Paris started out with just one hectare of vines in 1997. He now has 6ha of Cornas, as well as 1.5ha of Saint-Joseph and 1.5ha of Vin de Pays, from which he makes a very good white.
This rapid growth is mostly down to his winemaking proficiency, but the top parcel of 100-year-old vines in lieu-dit La Geynale that he farms is actually owned by a syndicate of international investors who bought the vineyard from his uncle, Robert Michel, in 2006.
His La Geynale is regularly one of the most impressive and powerful wines in the appellation. His two other Cornas bottlings are Granit 30 and Granit 60. They use a little less whole bunch than the Geynale and aren’t as concentrated or quite so reliable. The Granit 30 in particular can be light, but occasionally they are very good indeed – his 2019 Cornas Granit 60 was one of the wines of the vintage.
Domaine Guillaume Gilles
In the past few years, Guillaume Gilles has started to fulfil the promise he showed in his early vintages, and now sits among the top tier of Cornas producers. He learnt from the best; he was assistant to the great Robert Michel until he retired in 2006, at which point Michel leased Gilles a plot of old-vine Chaillots and let him use his cellar to make the wines.
Gilles ploughs the same furrow: no destemming, ageing his wines in old demi-muids, and bottling without fining or filtration.
These wines are built for 20 to 30 years’ ageing, and even Gilles admits, ‘perhaps I will never see the result of my work’.
All the more respect, therefore, for continuing local traditions, and producing such compelling and authentic wines. He is now converting the estate to organic viticulture.
A new Cornas, Nouvelle R, was introduced from vines planted at higher altitude in lieu-dit Les Rieux from the 2015 vintage. It’s not as dense as his grand vin, but provides enjoyably fresh and detailed drinking, particularly in hotter vintages.
Domaine Alain Voge
Alain Voge, who passed away in 2020, joined the family estate in 1961. After his father died in 1965, he grew fruit trees and worked as a nurseryman and a distiller to make ends meet. Gradually he gave up these sidelines to concentrate on his vineyard, which he converted to organic and then biodynamic viticulture.
Today the estate is managed by a team headed up by Lionel Fraisse, the son of one of Voge’s best friends. Though its Saint-Pérays are just as deserving of praise, it is better known for its Cornas.
Les Chaillés is produced from vines with an average age of 40 years, grown across the main slope, mostly destemmed, with no new oak.
Les Vieilles Vignes comes from better exposed sites, from vines with an average age of 60 years, typically seeing 20% whole bunch and 20% new oak.
The top cuvée, Les Vieilles Fontaines, is from 80-year-old vines in lieu-dit La Fontaine, and sees around 30% whole bunch and 20% new oak. Use of sulphites is minimal.
The style here is a little more accessible than some of its neighbours, very reliable and easily enjoyable without being dumbed down. The top wines can be sensational.
Domaine du Coulet
The wines of Matthieu Barret at Domaine du Coulet are quite atypical in style for Cornas, but can, in good years, provide some really delicious, memorable drinking. They rarely have the searching, bristling tannins that some of the more traditional wines display.
Aromatics are equally distinctive, with particularly high-toned, flower and herb-tinged profiles. They smell like whole bunch-fermented wines, even though they are destemmed.
Barret’s vineyards are in the north of the appellation, planted on some rare outcrops of limestone as well as the more classic granite soils. He farms his relatively large 11ha of Cornas biodynamically, and prefers to mature his wines in concrete eggs rather than barrels.
His largest cuvée is Brise Cailloux. Billes Noires comes from 60-year-old vines in lieu-dit Les Arlettes.
Gore (sometimes spelt Ogre) comes from the same parcel, but the north and east facing slopes. These might be more slender examples of Cornas, but the best wines can still age for 20 years.
Domaine du Tunnel
The Cornas of Stéphane Robert tends to be a little richer and riper in profile than most of the other producers in this list. He started out in 1984 with 2.5ha of vines, and quickly established a name for himself making a deep but approachable style of Cornas. Today, he favours recently-used rather new oak barriques, and the wines are a little less modern than they were, and all the more drinkable for it.
His cuvée classique is often my favourite, selected from 15 sites across the hill and matured in 3-year-old barrels. His Vin Noir and Pur Noir are both from centenarian vines, matured in younger barriques for 14 months – they are deeply concentrated, dense, dark wines. His Saint-Pérays are similarly rich, concentrated and luxurious.
Domaine Johann Michel
His parents weren’t winemakers, but Cornas is in Johann Michel’s blood; his grandfather helped create the appellation in 1938. He got off to a modest start, buying half a hectare of Cornas in 1997, and has since built his estate up to 3ha.
His cuvée classique is destemmed, but Jana (lieu-dit Chaillots, aged in used demi-muids) and Mère Michel (lieu-dit Les Côtes, aged in new demi-muids) are not. His wines combine the natural power and assertiveness of the terroir with a little polish and vibrancy, to impressive effect.
Domaine Dumien-Serrette
A small estate, but one that shouldn’t be overlooked: Domaine Dumien-Serrette comprises just 1.5ha of vineyards. Nicolas Serrette is the fourth generation to work this land, and he makes two Cornas cuvées.
The part-destemmed Patou takes its name from the lieu-dit where it’s grown, and makes for a slim but powerful and focused Cornas, straight as an arrow.
The new cuvée, Henri, was first produced in 2013 – the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Serrette’s grandfather, after whom it’s named. This is made from the oldest vines of the estate, sees no destemming, and is matured for longer in younger barrels.
For a classic, ageworthy Cornas, it’s hard to find a better value example than Serrette’s Patou.
Related content:
Cornas 2019 report
Top Côte-Rôtie alternatives
Domaine Clape vertical: 2017 – 1987
Matt Walls is an award-winning freelance wine writer and consultant, contributing regular articles to various print and online titles including Decanter, where he is a contributing editor. He has particular interest in the Rhône Valley; he is chair of the Rhône panel at the Decanter World Wine Awards and is the owner of travel and events company www.rhoneroots.com.