Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Fontaines 2020 750ml

96-98 Lastly, the tiny production 2020 Cornas Les Vieilles Fontaines comes from 80-year-old vines on granite soil. It’s a more primordial effort, offering layers of black and blue fruits, rose petals, candied violets, bloody meat, and bouquet garni. Uber-rich, powerful, and massive, it has good acidity, plenty of tannins, and a great finish. It is not, however, anywhere close to ready to drink. Hide bottles for at least 4-5 years, and it should be long-lived if stored properly. There’s a touch more volatile acidity here, so storage conditions will be critical.

• Country: France
• Region: Rhone Valley
• Appellation: Cornas
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Red

Varietal

Syrah

Known as Syrah in most countries around the world, and Shiraz in Australia and certain other regions of the New World, this grape varietal has proven over the centuries to be one of the most powerful and flavorful red wine grapes there is. It is now one of the planet’s most widely grown grapes, and is a favorite with wineries as a result of its robustness and versatility. It isn’t easy to identify many characteristics of this particular varietal, due to the fact that it is highly versatile and shows significant differences in flavor and character depending on the terroir it is grown in, and the climatic conditions of the region. However, Syrah is most widely associated with full bodied, strong and loud red wines, packed full of fruity and spicy flavors, held in a beautifully deep red liquid.