2018 Domaine Vincent Paris Crozes-Hermitage Selection Rhone

Wine Advocate called Vincent Paris “an up and coming superstar of Cornas,” and in the seven vintages since, he has proven them right with a slew of 95+ point reds. There’s no doubt that when this “child of Cornas” has his hands on top-quality Northern Rhône Syrah, he’s got no limits. And his Crozes-Hermitage Sélection is the perfect example. We have it for just $30 per bottle, but with less than one barrel allocated for Wine Access members, you’ll have to be quick to claim your share. 

Just one thing holds Vincent Paris back: his tiny home appellation of Cornas, the whole of which covers only as much vineyard land Bordeaux’s Château Lafite. That miniscule size puts a tight constraint on the amount of wine that Paris can produce, so the demand for his stellar bottlings far outpaces his supply. And since he’s accustomed to Cornas’s singular sun-baked Syrah, there are few places in the world that produce grapes that meet his standard.  

That’s why, when he got word from an old friend about a meticulously tended organic plot of old-vine Syrah across the river in Crozes-Hermitage, he was all ears. The hillside vineyard was farmed organically, and consisted of the kind of stony, alluvial terroir that produces some of the most spectacular Syrahs in the world. Vincent’s interest grew. And once he walked the vineyard and felt the roasting Northern Rhône sun as the soil crunched underfoot, he was in. 

His 2018 Domaine Vincent Paris Crozes-Hermitage Sélection is the result. A deep, smoky purple in the glass, the wine exudes that ultra-ripe blackberry and raspberry that characterizes Paris’ top Cornas, along with super-savory aromas of cured meat, spice box, black pepper, and tea leaf. This is an open and full-bodied Syrah that, thanks to the sand in the soil of its native plot, boasts a plush core that makes it far more approachable early than his flagship bottlings. Its long, peppery, slightly grippy finish left our mouth watering for another sip, and marveling that this Northern Rhône star comes at about half the price of Paris’ most affordable Cornas. 

But make no mistake—while this bottling offers Paris’ deft touch with a wine from outside of the tiny Cornas appellation, it does nearly nothing to broaden his reach. He made just twelve barrels of this precious Crozes-Hermitage, and our allocation is limited to less than one (just twenty cases, to be exact). So don’t wait to get in on this bottle, the handiwork of one of the Northern Rhône’s hottest producers. 

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.50%
• 15 mins
• Now – 2030
• % Syrah
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork