The Cornas vines start at the southern tip of St. Joseph and stretch along the granite-soiled slopes facing the town of Cornas in the northern Rhône wine region. The vignerons of Cornas have had a well earned reputation for making a beast of a wine: Dark, inky, and eternally long-lived, some French restaurants still boast a Cornas from the 50s lurking somewhere in the nether reaches of the list.

Cornas has been a terrible under achiever in the finesse department, lacking as it does a superstar like Guigal to inspire vignerons and make the world take notice of their wines. Potential suitors for this mantle, such as the oak-loving modernist producer Jean-Luc Colombo, have not managed to garner the support or affection of the other growers in the appellation.

Things however look to be changing, to judge by the impressive quality of releases from recent vintages and the escalating price of vineyard land in the appellation. Looking at the astronomical prices that are now being paid for bottles of Hermitage, Cornas’s full potential will not likely remain unrealized for long. (Wine/Appellations)