1996 Noël Verset Cornas

Community Tasting Notes (29) Avg Score: 92.4 points

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  3/7/2024 - thesternowl wrote: 95 Points

  Rhône or Nôwhere 2.0 (Malcolm, NE): First, the Gentaz and now, Verset?! Be still my beating heart! Noël Verset is a freaking legend. His first vintage was during the period of peace between the first and second world war which means, for most of his career, Cornas was a tough place to make a living making wine. It wasn’t until the 1990’s that things began to turn around and by that time, Noël was in his 70’s. Talk about perseverance. By the time he made this 1996 vintage, he had already started selling off some of his vineyards and by 2006, he was done making wine altogether. 
  
  And this 1996? It is lighter in color than the other wines in the Cornas line-up; almost a pale garnet with a transparent core. The nose is just crazy. I just wanted to smell it for the rest of the night. Wild mixed berries, dried purple flowers, garrigue, tobacco, and coffee. This was a Cornas of elegance and thinner on the palate relative to the Allemand and Clape. Long finish. Divine with venison, umami bomb, potato and pearl onion. Drinking very well now and could hold for longer but why? Merci Matt!

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  6/12/2023 - aajder wrote: 87 Points

  Lovely color, a bit of fading. The nose is funky; showing aromas of menthol, wild red fruits, flowers, spices, and a hint of herbs. This is medium full bodied on the palate with excellent concentration but only decent class. Rigid. The medium plus length finish features fresh acidity and integrated tannins. Not my style.

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  3/25/2022 - wilkinsmd wrote: flawed

  Glad everyone got to enjoy theirs because this bottle was borderline undrinkable. Impenetrable funk on the nose that blew off after 30 minutes to reveal a generally unappealing, sharp nose. On the palate it was…oh nevermind.

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  11/16/2020 - SMWSLT Likes this wine: 95 Points

  A medium bodied masterpiece, this was a singular and memorable wine tonight. Blackberries, minerals, smoke, and spice, each cascading across the palate then merging into a long, silky, caressing finish. This wine has been at a plateau for nearly a decade. Surely it will lose its fruit at some point; but for now I revel in an "Old World" wine that could only have come from Cornas.

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  1/10/2019 - Charlie Carnes Likes this wine: 96 Points

  The Verset was totally cool. Literally, the red fruit was cool and bright. We all agreed to some sort of feralness to the wine. I thought it was perfect. Medium clear red fruit, light bodied with dove blood, and trampled grass, hay, tart and juicy, nearing succulent, with a hint of olive and spice. A tremendous, beguiling wine!

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