Wine Advisor
Thierry Allemand, Cornas Reynard 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the oldest vines of the estate and one of the best vineyards in the world for Syrah, the 2012 Cornas Reynard is a massive, thick and unctuous effort that's bursting at the seams with notions of crème de cassis, crushed violets, smoked game and incredible minerality. Just a sensational Cornas that surpasses what was achieved in 2009 and 2010, this full-bodied, concentrated and structured effort has the fruit to be enjoyable now (this is a common trait of the vintage), yet has the depth, richness and balance to evolve for over two decades. It doesn't come cheap, but it's up there with some of the finest Syrahs made.
About the Producer
Thierry Allemand is located in the Cornas appellation of the Rhone Valley in France. Like the sleeping beauty of the Rhone Valley, Cornas has just awakened from its slumber. The wines produced here were once praised by Charlemagne, but for centuries they were under-appreciated. It was not until 1980 that a passionate winemaker with a dream arrived in Cornas and woke her up from her slumber: Thierry Allemand. At the age of 18, Thierry Allemand came to work at the Robert Michel winery in Colnas, and at the age of 19, he began making his first barrels of wine. He worked at the winery during the day and ran his own 1.5 hectare vineyard in his spare time. In 1987 he started selling his raw wine to wine merchants and in 1991 he started producing and commercialising bottled wine. After 15 years of running two jobs at the same time, he built Château Tillarimont with his own efforts, without taking out a bank loan. Château Tillarimont is situated on a north-south facing slope on the west bank of the Rhone Valley and covers just under 5 hectares. The vineyard soil is mainly composed of limestone-clay and granite soils, where there is plenty of light and the grapes tend to ripen early. The vineyard is dedicated to Syrah grapes and all the ripe grapes are hand-picked. Like all of the Corners legal reds, Thierry Allemande's wines are made from 100% Syrah. These wines are generally powerful, heavy-bodied, with supple, ripe tannins and intense aromas of red fruit, spice and liquorice.
