FFW 2021 Wine Catalogue

RHÔNE NORTHERNRHÔNE

MEET THE GROWER Domaine Vincent Paris CORNAS

Vincent is a serious and rather shy chap and produces wines that have some of the best quality:price ratios in France. Though as his renown grows the prices are gradually creeping upwards - and deservedly so given the quality on offer. He has built his own house and chai (literally, fromwhat I gather!) and it’s difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins, indicative, I suspect, of Vincent living and breathing his Domaine and wines. He has amodest holding of 7.5 hectares, five of which are in Cornas, and a holding in La Geynale. Since 2016 he expanded his output to include some Crozes-Hermitage and Syrah fromplots he leases. Most of his inherited vines came from his grandfather, many of which are particularly old. Withmore than 20 vintages under his belt, Vincent has forged his ownway and produces wines of a polished fruit-driven style that balances the robust, structured power of Cornas. I recently enjoyed a Granit 60 from2001, made in only his 4th vintage and it was flying – a thing of real beauty and something I savoured as one of those wine ‘moments’. These polished, contemporary (not ‘Modern’) wines see no new oak and really speak to the Cornas terroir of steep decomposing granite slopes. The purity of his Syrah and the stony soil shine through. He purposefully bottles his Granit 30 and Granit 60 (numbers referring to the average slope angle) relatively early, capturing their fruit purity and energy. As such what we find is they drink well in their youth and then go to sleep beforemetamorphosing into something evenmore brilliant. Some Granit 30 from2013 I have is in that sleeping phase, I feel, but it won’t be for long. It’s worthmentioning they have also impressed a number of FrenchMichelin 3* sommeliers enough to make it onto their lists, a feat in its own right!

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WINE CATALOGUE