I’m getting a very enthusiastic response to our coverage of the Rhone this year, but one critical note came up again and again: the wines are way more expensive than they used to be. Sure, the majority of the top wines from the sought-after appellations of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Hermitage, Cote Rotie and Cornas went up in price and some of them are well into three-figure territory. However, this doesn’t mean they are all expensive, by any means.
The Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 30 2022 is a wonderful Northern Rhone bargain. WineSearcher.com gives the average global price as $40, but there are a bunch of countries where it can be bought for quite a bit less than that. This is a great modern-style Cornas that’s incredibly expressive and precise, with stacks of forest berry, forest floor and wild herb character. The restrained richness, an alcohol content around 13 percent and the youthful freshness of the wine make it vertical rather than broad. It is invigorating and delightful, rather than heavy or tiring.
The best thing about the wine, though, is the finish. Just as the coolness of the evening follows the heat of the day, the succulence of the mid-palate is followed by a wonderful mineral vibrancy that pulls you back for more. You can drink this wine tonight, in a few years’ time, or you could cellar it for a decade-plus. I think it’s always going to give you great pleasure and remain fascinating.
Vincent Paris has been making this style of Cornas for several years, and I stumbled upon his wines last year in a large tasting that Inter Rhone, the regional promotion board, organized for us. I was prospecting and I hit a nugget of gold! This year I got to see the winery, which nestles under a giant solar panel behind a modest house. There’s nothing fancy about the interior, and Vincent is quite a reserved guy who doesn’t blow his own horn. He is not interested in working the markets, so the only way to meet him is to go there.
I love the high-profile producers of the Rhone, and it’s a pleasure to taste great wines in a luxurious tasting room, as I did several times this year. However, it’s also great that this world co-exists with a down-to-earth vigneron – the French work that literally translated means “winegrower” – like Vincent Paris who has just one goal: to make wines that are the best possible expression of his vineyards. And he did it again! Here is a syrah from Cornas that is complex, original and elegant.
– Stuart Pigott, Senior Editor
