Gentaz is the revered traditionalist farmer and wine maker whose Côte-Rôties are considered by many Rhône cognoscenti as the greatest of all the Northern Rhône wines, the greatest Syrah in existence. The 1991 Noel Verset Cornas was not showing so well, there was volatile acidity. drank a Marius Gentaz Côte-Rôtie. Wow, what a night.

Noël Verset made wines in Cornas that for many people define the potential greatness of the Northern Rhône and of Syrah. Verset owned several choice plots of very old vines (some approaching 100 years old) in the best vineyards of Cornas, the tiny appellation in the southern-most edge of the Northern Rhône. Delicious.

Michel also brought a "GSM" - grenache, syrah, mouvedre (Chateau de Nages 2009 Costieres de Nimes, Chaeau de Nage Vielles Vignes, Rouge) with minimum oak yet a spicey nose of concentrated red grapes. Alberic Mazoyer from Domaine Alain Voge in Cornas spoke about his region in the North. 100% Syrah.

If I were to list 25 wines that I want to drink in hot weather, I cannot imagine that Cornas would appear. Who wants to drink rustic and earthy northern Rhône Syrah when it's very humid and 94 degrees outside? remembered my friend Peter telling me a little while ago that Syrah is very flexible and can work with dishes like this.

It was Cornas, mostly, and one particular St. After drinking six top Cornas wines, after thinking and talking about them, I was very happy. But it was when the next wines hit the table that I had a little Cornas breakthrough. Here are the wines we drank, first: 2006 Auguste Clape Cornas. 2000 Noël Verset Cornas.

Apparently, blending syrah from the Northern Rhone with Bordeaux was fairly common in the pre- appellation controllée era, particularly in weaker vintages, to result in a wine that had been “Hermitagé,&# so-called after the celebrated region that produces fine syrah. in the one I tasted last week.

Perhaps in an attempt to relive some of the recent glory of Northern Rhône Syrah with steak , I opened a 2008 Pierre Gonon Vin de Pays de l'Ardèche Les Iles Feray , $17, Imported by Fruit of the Vines, Inc. Our spring this year skipped over the typical two weeks of mid 60's weather and seems to have jumped straight to high 70's.

When I asked why Syrah would work if a Bordeaux wouldn't, Peter said that Syrah is very similar to Cabernet in structure, but far more versatile with food. Peter selected the 1999 Noël Verset Cornas , $65, Kermit Lynch Imports (although this bottle came from Crush and they bought it from a private collection). Sounds good.

While Merlot’s fall from grace can be traced to one line in the movie Sideways , the fall of Syrah has been more difficult to track. Even more broadly, it’s still a tough sell: producers and retailers have repeatedly told me that save for a few appellations in the Northern Rhone, the homeland of the grape, Syrah remains a sluggish category.

decided to open a bottle that I recently acquired, the 2000 Noël Verset Cornas , $60, Imported by Connoisseur Wines (usually imported by Kermit Lynch, but I bought this at Crush , who obtained it from a private collection). So there will be no more Verset Cornas. I haven't had a whole lot of northern Rhône wine. Why this wine? alcohol.

The one in the Northern Rhone was about syrah. I'd taste some remarkable older Hermitage and Cornas (which just doesn't get enough respect), get a huge crush on wine maker deity, Thierry Allemand, I'd walk across the river at sunset. How did this happen without me seeing it? That's me this summer in Tain Hermitage.

John Gilman, author of the newsletter The View from the Cellar , joins us again for a Q&A. asked him six questions; he replied with over 10,000 words! Natural wines are growing in popularity. Are these wines forcibly better? But let’s look at each sector that you discussed separately, rather than painting with those broad brushstrokes.

Cornas is another town that I see as at the beginning of a renaissance- it was kind of left behind when all the hoopla reached Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie in the late 1980s and 1990s- but there are some really good growers working here now, the most famous being Thierry Allemand. German Riesling. And I really don’t understand why. The Loire.

Yves makes highly regarded red and white wines from the Northern Rhone appellations of Condrieu, Cote Rotie, Saint Joseph, Cornas, and Saint Peray. really liked his ‘06 Saint Joseph, “Les Serrines,&# which is made from small berry Syrah and has great aromas of tar and black olives on the nose. find this wine ). percent.

Find some winemakers who eschew new wood even on their syrah and pinot. There on a table not for from the pig was a 1994 Clape Cornas. But I was so happy for the silty, sweaty experience of the syrah. Find some winemakers who eschew new wood even on their syrah and pinot. on the street? Its really not so hard. Why not?

Find some winemakers who eschew new wood even on their syrah and pinot. There on a table not for from the pig was a 1994 Clape Cornas. But I was so happy for the silty, sweaty experience of the syrah. Mont Olivet (la Cuveee du Papet, when they make it, is like having a bard telling you a story in a glass), Clape Cornas and D.

It has benefited from several centuries history of vine breeding and winemaking, and has the ability to grow in an unique way three fantastic grape varieties, the Syrah in the North, the Grenache and Mourvèdre in the South. personnaly love the earthiness of Cornas, from Courbis, or Clape, but may others would do. at least.

Black berry, black currant, and freshly ground black pepper complete this texturally equisite syrah. Opaque plum, medium viscosity. Prune, fresh herbs, and graphite on the nose. Totall restrained still, but spicy, loamy, and an oaky finish that goes a nice long time, buoyed by fine sweet tannin.

In honor of the terroir that must be saved in Cornas, M graciously ferried in a 2000 Lemencier Cornas, in its last two-three years of glory. Yet, he happily tasted the Cornas. He likes syrah and said to me, "You know shiraz and syrah are the same grape?" but makes the place even more charming. His eyes approved.

Tim at Winecast is hosting this month, and new world Syrah is his theme of choice. have little experience with Syrah, and I don't drink much new world wine, other than Oregon Pinot Noir. So it was with an intrepid spirit and good cheer that I set out to taste a new world Syrah for WBW #30. We'll see. First, the lamb. So what?

That's because I am a newcomer to the Cornas appellation. have tasted a grand total of two Cornas wines, and the first was about four years ago and I don't remember the producer. This post is not about Cornas, or this specific producer. hope to try some more great Syrah this year Pretty specific name for a post, right?

love the grapes in the area (syrah, granache, cinsaut and mouverde) and I wanted to dig through there first. The wine is a northern Rhone Valley one hundred percent syrah from the Cornas AOC. It is time for me to re focus. have been all over the place with these posts. Well, people I am back on track and in a very exciting way.