TARDIEU-LAURENT, Cornas

Tardieu-Laurent’s Cornas (including the long-standing Vieilles Vignes bottling) comes from steep granitic slopes and very old Serine/Syrah vines in sites such as Chaillots, Geynale, Eygats and Saint-Pierre, giving a strongly marked sense of northern Rhône place. Whole-bunch use is significant in the Vieilles Vignes, with ageing in new Tronçais and Allier barrels and, for the Coteaux cuvée, a mix of new and one-year-old barrels followed by time in large foudres, bringing savoury complexity and fine but firm structure. Regularly pitched in the low-to-mid 90s by major critics and noted for dark fruit, smoke, olive and game notes, this is a characterful and ageworthy expression of Cornas that marries traditional grip with a polished, modern sheen.