Wine Advisor
Vincent Paris, Cornas La Geynale 2018
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
For whatever reason, the sample of Paris's 2018 Cornas la Geynale seemed less expressive than his Granit 60 (both were tasted blind). Herb notes accent mixed berries in a wine that's medium to full-bodied and impeccably balanced, with firm but ripe tannins and a long, gently dusty finish. With its strong track record, I have to think it's likely to show better next year when I revisit it.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Inky violet. Sexy dark fruit compote, Moroccan spice, cured meat and potpourri scents expand with air and pick up a smoky mineral quality. Deeply concentrated and chewy in texture, offering palate-staining blackberry, cherry liqueur and candied violet flavors that are energized by cracked pepper and mineral flourishes. Shows excellent clarity and dark fruit thrust on the youthfully tannic finish, which hangs on with impressive tenacity and leaves a suggestion of bacon behind.
About the Producer
Domaine Vincent Paris is a relatively new but well-respected wine producer based in Cornas in the Rhône valley region of southeast France. The domaine specialises in Syrah wines from both the Cornas region itself and neighboring appellations. The area is traditionally known for rustic expressions of this grape, but Paris' wines attract acclaim for their combination of intensity and freshness. The first Vincent Paris wine was released in 1997 and he farms around 17 hectares (42 acres) of vineyards at various points along the Cornas slope and into Saint-Joseph. The entry-level wine is the Granit 30, produced from younger vines on gentler granite slopes – though sites on 30-degree inclines are still hard to cultivate. The Granit 60 is sourced from precipitous terraced and inclined (on slopes ranging up to 60-degrees) plots in the Patou, Les Mazards and Saumon sites in Cornas. The vines for the latter cuvée range from 40-100 years old. The range-topping La Geynale cuvée is based a century-old, one-hectare (2.5-acre) lieu-dit of the same name on a south-facing granite-based slope at the foot of the Reynard vineyard. The domaine also produces a white Côtes du Rhône combining Viognier and Roussanne from a small hilltop parcel within the (red wine-only) Cornas boundaries. A Saint-Joseph Syrah is also made from a single plot near Ardoix.
