2019 Yves Cuilleron, ‘Le Village’ Cornas, Rhône Valley, France

Producer: A family estate for 3 generations, founded by grandfather Claude in 1920. Yves Cuilleron trained as an engineer before taking over operations in 1987, growing the estate holdings from 3.5 to over 90 hectares, with prime, old vine parcels in multiple appellations in the northern Rhône, including Condrieu, Saint Joseph, Côte Rôtie & Saint Péray & a series of Vin de Pays from the Collines Rhôdaniennes. Starting in 2015 he began bottling individual lieux-dits. He is very precise & rigorous in style, striving for harmony & balance, straddling the line between traditional & modern, always expressing a sense of place.

Place: The Domaine is located in Verlieux, in the commune of Chavaney, just south of Condrieu, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Cornas is one of the smallest appellations in the northern Rhône, producing exclusively red wine from Syrah grown on steep rocky granite slopes.

Cultivation: Eco-friendly, organic practices, in conversion to organic certification.

Varietal: Syrah

Bottling: ‘Le Village’ is a bottling of Syrah from 3 sites in Cornas in localities of ‘Les Côtes’ ‘Reynard’ & ‘Cayret’

Soil: Terraced Granit

Winemaking: Manual harvest, partial destemming, fermentation in open vats for 3 weeks with natural yeast, aged for 18 months in barrel.

Tasting Notes: Black Fruit – Undergrowth – Spicy Tannin