Raw and charismatic, with plenty of juicy blackberry fruit and some blood and iron to season the package. Drinking well already, although it's still plenty fresh at this stage.
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Second bottle down and developing very nicely. Drank over two nights with a day in between. Quite full-bodied but by no means over powering., Has a lovely smooth velvety texture with great savoury fruit profile. The spice and pepper notes are there but really well integrated and not overpowering. Lovely wine with its best years ahead.
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Tasting Ground official tasting, Cornas La Geynale, From Uncle to Nephew (Oinoscent): Bottles open 10.15 and tasted 14.00, no decant The wine is a monster but precise, clean, very youthful, more spice than fruit, clove, black pepper, ripe black fruit, fruit in alcohol (but not hot), elegant in all its strength. With time, the wine turns into black fruit galore plus licorice, elegant but huge, huge but elegant !! Palate is tight with juicy black fruit framed by oak, great tannic structure, huge density, highly concentrated wine, really youthful, long beautiful finish. This is for the marathon rather than the long run
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The wine is clear, with deep purple colour, ruby towards the rims, and thick legs.
On the nose, the wine is clean, with medium plus primary aroma intensity of ripe red fruits, cherries, black berries, black currant, spices, black pepper, floral, blossom.
On the palate, the wine is dry, with medium plus acidity, medium green tannins, medium plus alcohol, medium body, medium plus primary flavour intensity of ripe red fruits, cherries, plums, strawberries, blackberries, spices, black pepper, and medium tertiary flavour intensity of meat.
Finish is long, with vibrant and fresh acidity across all palate.
The wine is of a very good quality, as it is showing great balance between primary ripe fruit concentration and acidity. It has great length, intensity and showing complexity due to its multi layers of characteristics.
The wine was youthful at time of tasting, but pleasantly surprising and appealing, however would definitely benefit from further bottle aging, in order to soften the tannins, and bring to the front more of its earthy, tertiary characteristics.
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PnP so this should be interesting as I am guessing it will need loads of time to open up. Color is deep ruby/purple. On the nose: Massive pepper, blood, sour funk, violets and cassis. Nose is excellent. On the palate: Cassis, pepper and spices, blood, black olive, violets and tart pomegranate. I think this is very good and because PnP I am underscoring. I will give the next bottle at least 3 hours. This is an elegant Cornas. This is my first bottle of a case so I think it can stand a few more years of age. This wine is worth seeking out.
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Medium bodied, traditional styling with modern elements, high quality real cork.
Needs around two full days of air to open up at all. Until then it's a tannic mess and doesn't offer any Cornas terroir. After that it's fantastic: granitic iron, conifer, purple and wild blue and black berries, anise, blood. This vintage reminds me a bit of Gilles' style of Cornas.
Wait, or give 48+ air. Drank over 5 days and days 3-5 were all solid with the 5th introducing slight black banana. One concern with long term cellaring is this gorgeous fruit may dissipate prior to its incredibly dense tannic backbone. 93-94
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rustic with drying tannins on day one---put into wine fridge and on day four this was great--iron, deep dark fruit, real gravitas---did i say iron? the (somewhat chalky) tannins are there but now in the background and the entire effort is silkier; i love this, but you need food to stand up to it; hold em if you got em
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Meaty smell on the nose, with spicy black raspberry and some sort of fragrant wood. A strong iron streak that just really makes it stand out. In the mouth - explosive!! Ripe, wild fruit, again the iron minerality. Very tannic. Drying, rough tannins that calmed down 3 hours in but are still prominent. If my last bottles survive long enough, I think the tannin will calm and allow bright red fruit in mid-palate and on the finish.
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Incredibly light on its feet. This wine has such a mesmerizing nose and comes across as almost pinot like but still has the stuffing of Syrah in a good year. Drinking remarkably well now considering only a few years old. Makes me want to buy more from this producer, as this combination of elegance and power is exactly what good Syrah should strive for.
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First bottle from the case purchased around five years ago. Rich ruby colour in the glass with a powerful rich and savoury aroma. Drinking well now but with plenty left in the tank. Rich black brambly fruit with characteristic Cornas black pepper undertones. Bodes well for further development.
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Still quite young but starting to open up and be a bit welcoming. The nose is not effusive but is lovely - black fruit and granite. A bit of iron and sweet charred meat. Vanilla - must be some new oak in there. The mouth is an explosion of acid, tannin, black fruit but mostly bright red fruit. Pomegranate. Tart cherry - more tart black cherry. The tannins are exceedingly fine, the acidity is medium plus. Long finish. Light bodied but pretty big everything else. Five years, or more, when the tannins calm this wine is going to be so seductive. Impressive. Second night update - the wine is really masculine but magical. Heavy dose of iron, bit of iodine. The fruit is so black with no sweetness . Tonight the finish is explosive - high acid along with quick-drying tannins, then the acid returns to carry the finish long. Second night proves the genius of this wine.
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Dark ruby. Blossoming aromas of game, roses, black pepper, coffee, and dry heath. Gritty tannins on the palate, with a pure sweet clear fruit core shining through, framed by girders of tannin and acid, with a lovely floating aromatic back note above the lingering finish of sparkling acid under polished tannins. A remarkable wine, probably way too young, looking forward to tasting years from now, excellent with ratatouille. 50 + 17 + 18 + 9 = 94.
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Tasted side by side with the '15 Balthazar Chaillot - this comes off as more polished. It has dark fruits, black olive tapenade and fine tannins - still very young but approachable now.
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Revenge of the Cornas (Michaeangelo Hotel): Nice start to the tasting. This is classic Cornas. Lots of lovely dark black fruits and a bit of a more gentle note (which I think is how I interpret the acidity in these wines). Very fine tannins. Tasty.
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Followed over two nights. Tight initially, but it did open up with air. This is a big, dark and tannic wine. Very polished and well made. My only complaint is that this reminds a bit of a CA Syrah - not a bad thing, but it doesn’t have some of the wildness that I like in Northern Rhone. Maybe that will come with time. Time will benefit this wine in any event. Decant if drinking now.
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Impressive - this is painfully young and a wall of tannin at first, but there's a lot going on here with lots of bright red fruit, black olive notes in the background, and stemmy and savoury earthy notes that gradually emerge with air. It's still very primary and not showing any of the more meaty/sauvage notes of Cornas yet, but I love the overall balance here and think this will get much better with time.
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This is a Wine built for potential - and not for today. Or even this decade. On opening it was painfully tight, with drying tannins. The nose was reticent to nearly non-existent. Other than the tannins, the fruit was black and a little tarry. No finesse at all - a bit of a spike maul of a wine. Second day entirely different. Brambly black fruit with a bit of iodine in the nose. Lovely. Smooth and light-bodied. The tannins are not as aggressive - what one expects in a young wine of such quality. Black and red fruit, balanced acids, charcoal and a tiny bit of tar on the very end of an exceptionally long and syrah-spice finish. Delighted to have 6 more bottles - and they will be left alone until, at a minimum, 2020 and beyond. This wine should be truly fabulous at age 10 - 15.
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Very deep purple. Nose is quite modern, ripe and polished with black fruits, violet，black berry jam， sweet spices, liquorice, cinnamon and olive. Very tannic on the palate and did not smooth with time in glass. It is really hard to judge it now but I believe it needs more than ten years to be integrated and balanced.
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Deep purple appearance. Nose of dark fruits, black plum, blackcurrant leaf, but some toasted strawberry jam element, pine leaf, black pepper. Bold up front but not giving much away after that. Drying and tannic on the finish. Very hard to judge at this stage. Needs 3 years at an absolute minimum to soften. I may well completely change my opinion later but this makes me worry about the longevity of 2015s.
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3/10/2024 - NickA Likes this wine: 92 Points
Raw and charismatic, with plenty of juicy blackberry fruit and some blood and iron to season the package. Drinking well already, although it's still plenty fresh at this stage.
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12/6/2023 - pren wrote: 90 Points
这个酒涩劲十足，在N rhone里少见，需要醒3小时以上。我的这瓶有流出的迹象，状态可能有问题。颜色偏红而不是紫。喝起来像light的aglianico。没有Syrah的特征，一点都没有。
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11/17/2023 - DFBW Likes this wine: 92 Points
Second bottle down and developing very nicely. Drank over two nights with a day in between. Quite full-bodied but by no means over powering., Has a lovely smooth velvety texture with great savoury fruit profile. The spice and pepper notes are there but really well integrated and not overpowering. Lovely wine with its best years ahead.
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8/19/2023 - chbeaumont wrote: 92 Points
This benefited from double decanting. Dark, brooding but balanced. Will age well.
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6/7/2023 - kostaslonis Likes this wine:
Tasting Ground official tasting, Cornas La Geynale, From Uncle to Nephew (Oinoscent): Bottles open 10.15 and tasted 14.00, no decant
The wine is a monster but precise, clean, very youthful, more spice than fruit, clove, black pepper, ripe black fruit, fruit in alcohol (but not hot), elegant in all its strength. With time, the wine turns into black fruit galore plus licorice, elegant but huge, huge but elegant !!
Palate is tight with juicy black fruit framed by oak, great tannic structure, huge density, highly concentrated wine, really youthful, long beautiful finish.
This is for the marathon rather than the long run
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6/7/2023 - Shloly Likes this wine: 91 Points
The wine is clear, with deep purple colour, ruby towards the rims, and thick legs.
On the nose, the wine is clean, with medium plus primary aroma intensity of ripe red fruits, cherries, black berries, black currant, spices, black pepper, floral, blossom.
On the palate, the wine is dry, with medium plus acidity, medium green tannins, medium plus alcohol, medium body, medium plus primary flavour intensity of ripe red fruits, cherries, plums, strawberries, blackberries, spices, black pepper, and medium tertiary flavour intensity of meat.
Finish is long, with vibrant and fresh acidity across all palate.
The wine is of a very good quality, as it is showing great balance between primary ripe fruit concentration and acidity.
It has great length, intensity and showing complexity due to its multi layers of characteristics.
The wine was youthful at time of tasting, but pleasantly surprising and appealing, however would definitely benefit from further bottle aging, in order to soften the tannins, and bring to the front more of its earthy, tertiary characteristics.
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5/13/2023 - Brian of Mull Likes this wine: 93 Points
PnP so this should be interesting as I am guessing it will need loads of time to open up. Color is deep ruby/purple. On the nose: Massive pepper, blood, sour funk, violets and cassis. Nose is excellent. On the palate: Cassis, pepper and spices, blood, black olive, violets and tart pomegranate. I think this is very good and because PnP I am underscoring. I will give the next bottle at least 3 hours. This is an elegant Cornas. This is my first bottle of a case so I think it can stand a few more years of age. This wine is worth seeking out.
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2/26/2023 - aero Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium bodied, traditional styling with modern elements, high quality real cork.
Needs around two full days of air to open up at all. Until then it's a tannic mess and doesn't offer any Cornas terroir. After that it's fantastic: granitic iron, conifer, purple and wild blue and black berries, anise, blood. This vintage reminds me a bit of Gilles' style of Cornas.
Wait, or give 48+ air. Drank over 5 days and days 3-5 were all solid with the 5th introducing slight black banana. One concern with long term cellaring is this gorgeous fruit may dissipate prior to its incredibly dense tannic backbone. 93-94
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9/14/2022 - wabi47 Likes this wine: 94 Points
rustic with drying tannins on day one---put into wine fridge and on day four this was great--iron, deep dark fruit, real gravitas---did i say iron? the (somewhat chalky) tannins are there but now in the background and the entire effort is silkier; i love this, but you need food to stand up to it; hold em if you got em
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11/1/2021 - randyjc wrote: 92 Points
Meaty smell on the nose, with spicy black raspberry and some sort of fragrant wood. A strong iron streak that just really makes it stand out. In the mouth - explosive!! Ripe, wild fruit, again the iron minerality. Very tannic. Drying, rough tannins that calmed down 3 hours in but are still prominent. If my last bottles survive long enough, I think the tannin will calm and allow bright red fruit in mid-palate and on the finish.
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10/31/2021 - chapulin wrote: 94 Points
Incredibly light on its feet. This wine has such a mesmerizing nose and comes across as almost pinot like but still has the stuffing of Syrah in a good year. Drinking remarkably well now considering only a few years old. Makes me want to buy more from this producer, as this combination of elegance and power is exactly what good Syrah should strive for.
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3/20/2021 - DFBW Likes this wine: 92 Points
First bottle from the case purchased around five years ago. Rich ruby colour in the glass with a powerful rich and savoury aroma. Drinking well now but with plenty left in the tank. Rich black brambly fruit with characteristic Cornas black pepper undertones. Bodes well for further development.
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3/28/2020 - randyjc wrote: 93 Points
Still quite young but starting to open up and be a bit welcoming. The nose is not effusive but is lovely - black fruit and granite. A bit of iron and sweet charred meat. Vanilla - must be some new oak in there. The mouth is an explosion of acid, tannin, black fruit but mostly bright red fruit. Pomegranate. Tart cherry - more tart black cherry. The tannins are exceedingly fine, the acidity is medium plus. Long finish. Light bodied but pretty big everything else. Five years, or more, when the tannins calm this wine is going to be so seductive. Impressive. Second night update - the wine is really masculine but magical. Heavy dose of iron, bit of iodine. The fruit is so black with no sweetness . Tonight the finish is explosive - high acid along with quick-drying tannins, then the acid returns to carry the finish long. Second night proves the genius of this wine.
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3/28/2019 - wgmccallum Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark ruby. Blossoming aromas of game, roses, black pepper, coffee, and dry heath. Gritty tannins on the palate, with a pure sweet clear fruit core shining through, framed by girders of tannin and acid, with a lovely floating aromatic back note above the lingering finish of sparkling acid under polished tannins. A remarkable wine, probably way too young, looking forward to tasting years from now, excellent with ratatouille. 50 + 17 + 18 + 9 = 94.
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3/19/2019 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine:
Tasted side by side with the '15 Balthazar Chaillot - this comes off as more polished. It has dark fruits, black olive tapenade and fine tannins - still very young but approachable now.
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3/19/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Revenge of the Cornas (Michaeangelo Hotel): Nice start to the tasting. This is classic Cornas. Lots of lovely dark black fruits and a bit of a more gentle note (which I think is how I interpret the acidity in these wines). Very fine tannins. Tasty.
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10/27/2018 - Nanda wrote: flawed
2015 Northern Rhones Blind: Decidedly corked.
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10/27/2018 - acyso wrote: flawed
Most of the 2015 Northern Rhones worth a damn, blind (Chicago, IL): Corked.
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6/14/2018 - B Paul wrote:
Followed over two nights. Tight initially, but it did open up with air. This is a big, dark and tannic wine. Very polished and well made. My only complaint is that this reminds a bit of a CA Syrah - not a bad thing, but it doesn’t have some of the wildness that I like in Northern Rhone. Maybe that will come with time. Time will benefit this wine in any event. Decant if drinking now.
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12/12/2017 - salil wrote: 91 Points
Impressive - this is painfully young and a wall of tannin at first, but there's a lot going on here with lots of bright red fruit, black olive notes in the background, and stemmy and savoury earthy notes that gradually emerge with air. It's still very primary and not showing any of the more meaty/sauvage notes of Cornas yet, but I love the overall balance here and think this will get much better with time.
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11/6/2017 - randyjc wrote: 92 Points
This is a Wine built for potential - and not for today. Or even this decade. On opening it was painfully tight, with drying tannins. The nose was reticent to nearly non-existent. Other than the tannins, the fruit was black and a little tarry. No finesse at all - a bit of a spike maul of a wine. Second day entirely different. Brambly black fruit with a bit of iodine in the nose. Lovely. Smooth and light-bodied. The tannins are not as aggressive - what one expects in a young wine of such quality. Black and red fruit, balanced acids, charcoal and a tiny bit of tar on the very end of an exceptionally long and syrah-spice finish. Delighted to have 6 more bottles - and they will be left alone until, at a minimum, 2020 and beyond. This wine should be truly fabulous at age 10 - 15.
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11/5/2017 - cool53 wrote:
Very deep purple. Nose is quite modern, ripe and polished with black fruits, violet，black berry jam， sweet spices, liquorice, cinnamon and olive. Very tannic on the palate and did not smooth with time in glass. It is really hard to judge it now but I believe it needs more than ten years to be integrated and balanced.
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9/3/2017 - OmiyaDrinker wrote: 90 Points
Deep purple appearance. Nose of dark fruits, black plum, blackcurrant leaf, but some toasted strawberry jam element, pine leaf, black pepper. Bold up front but not giving much away after that. Drying and tannic on the finish. Very hard to judge at this stage. Needs 3 years at an absolute minimum to soften. I may well completely change my opinion later but this makes me worry about the longevity of 2015s.
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1/14/2017 - petec-s Likes this wine: 94 Points
Open aromatic nose, Liquorice/ intense palate with real energy and potential, very pure long wine. 94-96
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