Franck Balthazar is the man currently holding the keys to the Northern Rhône’s most historic dirt, and for the collector community, this is the moment we’ve been waiting for. While Thierry Allemand’s name carries the weight of a legend and the price tag of a small inheritance, the real energy in the region has shifted toward Balthazar’s cellar. He isn’t just "another" producer; as the biological and spiritual successor to the late, great Noël Verset, Franck inherited a 100-year-old lineage of Syrah that has been farmed by hand and horse for generations.

Named after Franck's grandfather, the "Cuvée Casimir" is the collection's most approachable entry. Sourced from vines nearly 30 years old planted on granitic soils, this bottling serves as a vibrant introduction to the Balthazar style without the need for a decade of cellaring. It beautifully captures the energy of the vintage through a "soil-to-glass" purity that is a hallmark of the estate.  

• Tasting Note: A vibrant, peppery, and red-fruited Syrah that offers immediate accessibility and fresh granitic character.  

Critical Acclaim:

94 Points, Vinous Media:

The 2023 Cornas Cuvée Casimir Balthazar opens with expressive notes of orange blossom, fresh violets, black cherry, red plum, stemmy nuances and fine traces of cured meat. On the medium-bodied palate, it shows lifted freshness and impressive clarity. This is a carefully built, densely packed Cornas that I admittedly underestimated when tasting it from barrel at the winery last year. Like the Chaillot Cuvée Hommage from the same vintage, it carries tremendous intensity yet never feels heavy. Simply gorgeous.

94 Points, Jeb Dunnuck:

The classic cuvée from this singular vigneron, the 2023 Cornas Cuvée Casimir Balthazar offers beautiful, ripe, sun-kissed notes of red and black fruits, pepper, roasted meats, and graphite on the nose. It's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with plenty of ripe tannins and a great finish. It freshens up with air and shows more violet and black pepper, has fine tannins, and is just a classy Cornas that I'd be thrilled to drink any time over the coming two decades. Drink 2026-2046.