Thierry Allemand Cornas "Reynard" 2019

98 Points Vinous

Glass-staining violet. Heady, mineral-accented black and blue fruits, candied licorice, potpourri, exotic spices and olive scents on the intensely perfumed nose. Pliant, sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering deeply concentrated blackberry, cassis, fruitcake, smoky bacon and floral pastille flavors that are underscored by a vein of juicy acidity. Shows superb depth as well as liveliness and finishes wonderfully long and minerally, with resonating florality and polished tannins adding shape and a firming grip.

The wines of this region were wines once coveted by the Emperor Charlemagne but have been regarded as the red-headed stepchild of the Northern Rhône for the last hundred or so years. With the help of cult status winemaker Thierry Allemand, the wines of Cornas are recieving the attention they deserve.

Thierry began  by acquiring vineyard parcels that had long since been abandoned, rescuing some, buying others, and renting the rest. Insufferable work as it was, he cleared over-taken vineyards of weeds and scrub brush, reinforced terraces, rebuilt walls, and replanted, all by hand. Though it took him fifteen years before he could afford to fully dedicate himself to his own domaine (he earned his living as an electrician), the quiet, monastic Thierry Allemand has now become a legend.