Community Tasting Note

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Wednesday, August 23, 2023 - Jancis Robinson once described the wines of Cornas as 'obdurate', but this is a rather expressive and almost elegant wine. Whereas the 2019 was a cuirassier, this is a dashing and elegant type - perhaps of the Empress' Dragoons of the Imperial Guard, or a figure like General Vandamme.

Like Vandamme, this is a wine of the darkest dye - purple red and clearly brooking no silliness.

Vandamme was a notorious character but also extraordinarily brave, loyal to Napoleon and a competent commander. Napoleon said of him "If I were to lead a campaign against Lucifer in Hell, Vandamme would lead the vanguard". There is a play on words here, or a double meaning, because Vandamme was almost legendary for his looting (especially of churches - how much one wishes he were here today) and corruption; at one point Napoleon had also said of Vandamme "If I had two of him the only solution would be to have one hang the other".

The nose and palate of this wine deliver, like Vandamme. This is not as big, upfront and potent as the 2019 but it does not lack its own type of power; it is sleek and the finish powers on. It takes a while to open up, so either decant and leave for a few hours, or open the bottle and leave in place for 6-8 hours.

The fruit moves through a spectrum of at first slightly reserved dark plum and some dark berries. Over time a definite note of blueberry comes in and is almost intoxicating. I think a pairing of the 2019 and 2020 Cornas from Clape will make for fascinating drinking at any time, but especially as they get some age. I am put in mind of 1989 and 1990 in Bordeaux, or even 1982 and 1983.

Like Vandamme, there is also the usual Cornas stench of corruption - roast meats, smoke, black pepper and charcuterie. I don't think it is incipient Brettanomyces and I don't find it unbalanced, but with these characters, everyone has different tolerances.

Something I like about Cornas is that it is what it is and it is not afraid to speak its truths. When Vandamme was captured (after a hell of a fight) and brought before Tsar Nicholas I, the Tsar, appalled by this ruffian who had risen from the ranks to become a general, berated him for his rapacious character, to which Vandamme, staring insolently at Nicholas snorted 'That may be so, but you are not the person to accuse me of anything. At least I did not murder my father.' To add insult to injury there was no recognition of the Tsar's royal person - no 'your highness' etc. Needless to say, Vandamme was not well treated and, unlike many other Napoleonic generals, there was no amnesty or restoration to military rank under the Bourbons. His cards were marked.

I sometimes think that those who belittle Cornas are a little like those who complain about Napoleon's character and call him a tyrant. Compared to...? Tsar Alexander who was at least complicit in the British funded murder of his father Paul? The King of Britain, possibly mad but certainly locked up and maltreated by his son, of whom a senior aide wrote in his diary "A more contemptible, cowardly, selfish, unfeeling dog does not exist ... There have been good and wise kings but not many of them ... and this I believe to be one of the worst."? A kingdom that pursued policies of political assassination and at home near genocidal treatment of the Irish? Perhaps the Spanish royal family - so appallingly inbred that the Spanish patriot and artist Goya depicted them as morons in his works?

One need not necessarily like Cornas, one can acknowledge its challenging aspects, but let us also admire its clear qualities. Like Vandamme, it is a thing of many parts. I admire character and Vandamme, like Cornas, has it in spades - do you?

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