Lined up a couple of ’16 Cornas last week. The Allemand just got the Clape for my vote. An extra degree of precision, elegance and finesse.
2016 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot: The nose is all menthol, wild herbs, baked earth and blood plum. The palate is deep and delicious, with the perfect interplay between sweet and savoury elements. It has power but floats across the palate and tannins are buried under the wine’s flesh for now. It has that vivid plant matter and fruit, just out of the crusher kind of feel and the finish has plenty of floral spice. Lovely balance.
2016 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas: Ripe and intense red and black fruits greet the nose. There’s a coffee note and plenty of smoked meats. It has baked earth savouriness and is full, deep and penetrating. There’s good power, balance and outstanding length of flavour.
! Thanks for the notes, I’m quite interested in how good some of the '16 Northern Rhones are though have mainly had whites myself so far. Quite different style from '15 but both vintages potentially great.