Geography

Cornas sits on the right (west) bank of the Rhône, opposite Valence — the most southerly of the Northern Rhône red appellations. The vineyards are perched on dramatically steep granite slopes that catch full afternoon sun. The geology is pure granite, with a thin topsoil and very low water-holding capacity that stresses the vines and produces tiny berries with high skin-to-juice ratios. The appellation is small — about 145 hectares — and produces some of the most concentrated, structured Syrah in France.

The tradition

Cornas is the only Northern Rhône red appellation that mandates 100% Syrah — no Viognier co-fermentation allowed (unlike Côte-Rôtie, which allows up to 20%). Traditional Cornas is made with whole-cluster fermentation, extended maceration, and aging in older neutral oak. The result is wines of remarkable purity and structure but also remarkable austerity — Cornas in youth is famously unyielding. The producer Auguste Clape was the postwar reference and helped establish the appellation’s modern reputation.

Style of the wines

Cornas Syrah: dense, dark, structured. Blackberry, black plum, black pepper, olive, smoked meat, leather, sometimes a graphite-and-iron mineral spine from the granite. Tannin is firm; acid is bright; alcohol typically 13.5-14.5%. Young Cornas can be brutally austere; the wines require patience.

How they age

Top Cornas from a serious producer ages twenty-five to thirty-five years. The wines develop a savory, leathery, smoky tertiary complexity that is unmistakably Cornas. Auguste Clape (now Pierre-Marie Clape) and Thierry Allemand are the references for traditional Cornas; the modern style from Vincent Paris and others is slightly more approachable but still serious.

Producers we know

Auguste Clape (now Pierre-Marie Clape — the traditional reference), Thierry Allemand (cult, biodynamic), Vincent Paris (we carry Granit 60), Domaine Alain Voge, Domaine du Coulet (Matthieu Barret, biodynamic), Eric and Joël Durand.