Few wine experts will argue that Cornas, alongside neighboring Côte-Rotie and Hermitage, is one of the three most important Syrah-growing hillsides on earth. Furthermore, it’s hard not to gush about the 2015 vintage in France’s Northern Rhône Valley.
Regional icons Marcel Guigal and Yves Cuilleron claim 2015 is the finest vintage of their entire careers. Jancis Robinson MW says it may be the finest vintage since 1961. In short, this is a true “vintage of the century” and an irresistible opportunity to acquire top wines from small, family-owned properties. Today we feature a grand slam-hitting Cornas: this stunning red originates from the village’s top crus, it is the culmination of one family’s 460+-year history, it is on the shortlist of “endangered species” wines in the appellation that is truly built for multi-decade cellar aging—and finally, again, it hails from one of our lifetime’s legendary vintages. This wine is a winner and our allocation is actually quite generous: we can offer purchases up to a case today, for those who’d like a proven performer in their cellar for many years to come.
[*PLEASE NOTE: This wine is on special order and will be shipping from the SommSelect warehouse the week of Monday, February 25th.]
We all know the expression “bigger is better,” but as I’ve written before, in the world of wine, the opposite is often the case. Smaller vineyards, smaller cellars, and a focused and humble approach to one’s work reliably deliver the most soulful and impressive results. Domaine Lionnet is tiny; this is a one-man-show that produces a few hundred cases of wine from a mere two hectares of vines. Not too much has changed since the family began farming this hillside 460 years ago in 1575. Vines are grown 100% organically. All labor—including the grueling work of maintaining stone terraces—is done by hand, and the wines produced here are designed to be treasured for many years before the cork is pulled. This is uncompromising, unapologetically traditional Cornas. In the cellar, Lionnet bottles Cornas with a philosophy that pays duly flattering homage to the old masters, Noël Verset and Robert Michel—i.e. painstakingly handmade wines whose beauty and delicacy is revealed only after many years of aging have melted away their brawn and tannic density. Properly aged, classically styled Cornas is an endangered species of the wine world. One can read about the near-mythical virtues of authentic, mature Cornas in practically every European wine textbook ever printed—but locating the genuine article is another story altogether. There simply isn’t much “old school” Cornas bottled anymore, and if you are fortunate enough to find it, bottles tend to exorbitantly priced.
This “Terre Brulée” bottling is the Lionnet family’s only wine bottled this vintage and it originates from a small handful of Granite-dominated hillside vineyards: “Chaillot,” “Combes,” “Brugeres,” and “Mazards.” The 60-100 year old vines on these parcels are known for producing astonishingly dense and aromatic Syrah that overflows with the impossible-to-counterfeit Cornas soil character. While it has become fashionable for properties to separate their Cornas into individual single vineyard “luxury” cuvées, the traditional method—and that of the Lionnet family—is to combine multiple parcels into one wine that communicates the totality of Cornas’ timeless and unique terroir. This antique approach extends to the cellar, where all wine travels from press to barrel via gravity flow, no additives or filtration is used, and the wine is left to age for years in neutral old French oak barrels before bottling. And as with all great traditional Cornas, after release the wine still benefits considerably from further time reposing in bottle before drinking.
The 2015 “Terre Brulée” is one-stop tasting tour through an honor roll of Cornas’ top vineyard sites. With fruit from Les Mazards, this wine packs an initial aromatic punch of Asian spices, dried violets and roses, and this site’s distinct mid-palate red fruit. One of my favorite Cornas sites, Combe, brings three dimensional fresh herbs, wild flowers, and darker berry fruit to the table. Finally, famed “crus” Chaillots and Brugeres impart this wines high-toned floral notes and pristine granite minerality. Everything comes together on the palate with a handful of crushed red and black berries, with a satisfying tart cherry, dark roast coffee and licorice finish. If drinking over the next 12-18 months, please decant for two hours and serve at 60 degrees in large Bordeaux stems. This wine’s powerful tannins will find a wonderful counterpoint in some perfectly marbled beef. My fiancée has been experimenting with pan-seared “spider” or “oyster” steaks, which are small, tender, and perfectly fatty hip cuts. Grill a few of these alongside some creamy mashed potatoes, sautéed spinach and some crusty bread and you have a memorably rustic meal that is a perfect fit for this momentous wine. Still, I encourage all collectors to save at least a few of today’s bottles for your cellar. It would be dishonest to call any red from Lionnet “young drinking.” In truth, this wine will not truly blossom for another 3-5 years—but once it does, you can enjoy for another decade, or two, thereafter. This terroir, especially in the gifted hands of Lionnet, is known for producing powerful reds of near infinite aging potential. 2015 is a legendary year and this is a wine to impress your friends and family for years to come!
