Wine Advisor
Vincent Paris, Cornas La Geynale 2022
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Yohan Castaing
The 2022 Cornas La Geynale, the only cuvée at this address fermented with 100% whole clusters, wafts from the glass with aromas of violet, iris, licorice and spices mingled with carnal/animal-like notes. Medium to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, it's framed by structured tannins, a dry, robust mid-palate and a long, meaty and saline finish. Notably, it is the most overtly tannic wine in the range this year, and the presence of phenols likely enhances its robustness. Despite these challenges, the wine’s telluric character is unmistakably present.
Reviewed by: Stuart Pigott
Very complex nose of smoke and forest berry fruit with a touch of grilled meat. Extremely dense with enormous fine tannins, but still so bright and energetic. Major concentration at the extremely long, velvety finish, where you feel the wildness that's the signature of this appellation. From a single parcel of 50-year-old vines. Drinkable now, but best from 2026.
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.
