Where to start with Cornas?

As the weather begins to cool down, I find my mind turning to the Northern Rhone. I have enjoyed N Rhone wine in the past, but have no experience with Cornas. I enjoy the savory/tapenade/meaty flavors in Northern Rhone wines, and I hear that Cornas is the place to be. But these wines are SO EXPENSIVE, so I was hoping for a little guidance for those in the know here rather than buying based on CT scores. If it helps for a recommendation, I tend to enjoy N Rhone wines that are a bit more on the lighter end of the spectrum- I know these aren’t typically light wines, but some can be a bit much for my palate. Thanks!

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Availability and price wise, I think Vincent Paris Granit 30 is a great place to start.

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Franck Balthazar is relatively affordable compared to the big names.

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Matthieu Barret Domaine du Coulet Brise Cailloux would fit that lighter end of the spectrum wish. You won’t get much tapenade flavors here but definitely some red meat. Other perk is that you can drink it young.

However, you might want to also try something more concentrated, brooding and darker. It helps to understand the range that Cornas can span.

Michel Bourg

Lots of good options but I’d start with Guillaume Gilles. His wines are juicy and clean enough to be crowd pleasers but they still have a more rustic savory flavors that Cornas brings.

Cuchet-Beliando, Cornas can be found under $100/750ml, although not everywhere.
Quality is very high but needs decades in bottle.
Best, jim

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Start at the top so you understand the benchmark producers. Allemand and Clape.

Otherwise you’ll wade through a bunch of average to good, and occasionally great, bottles from other producers wondering what all the fuss is about.

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Thanks for all these replies so far. Given that I want to know about Cornas now, I am looking to buy bottles that are ready to drink. What sort of age would you recommend? Any vintages to look out for? Others to avoid?

Young. Maybe 2017.

Otherwise like 1990.

Oh really? Do they shut down quickly? I was looking around and there are some decent deals for bottles in like the 2008-2012 range. You’d recommend avoiding these?

I have always thought 2014 and 2011, and many 2012s, can be enjoyed young, and will benefit from time as well. Compare that to 2013 and 2010, which are very structured and need oodles of time, and 2015 which is so primary still. The Rule of 15 is a good rule for Northern RhĂ´nes, but in these vintages like 14 and 11, I violate it all the time. Just had a most awesome 2014 Cornas last week.

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Great recommendation for what he seeks - approachable, “light” and affordable. Light is relative, of course.

2008 Clape is beautiful and in the zone

Just depends on what you like I guess.

That is an outlier opinion.

I guess it depends how you like your wines and how much air you like. Probably lighter vintages such as 08 and 14 will be ready sooner but I wouldn’t know because I don’t buy them.

Someone poured the Vincent Paris Granit 60 in a blind tasting, and although I’m not generally a syrah enthusiast, I thought it was very good, and pretty reasonably priced at around $50-60.

Looks like the prices are climbing, though.

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great suggestion

I don’t know how to answer these kinds of questions. All the above suggestions are great but Clape, Voge(especially 80s/90s) and Thierry Allemand wines are singular to me. There are some old rare ones (think Verset here) too but I think these three will give you the best idea of what Cornas can do.

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