Domaine Johann Michel Cornas 2020
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Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Expressive, deep, rich, silky and juicy. Well structured and round, it displays red fruit, leather, black cherry, licorice and black berry aromas.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Readers who love classic, old school, yet clean and impeccably made Cornas should jump on the 2020 Cornas from Johann Michel. Sporting a deep purple hue as well as killer notes of black cherries, scorched earth, iron, graphite, and violets, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a focused, firm, yet layered mouthfeel, a good sense of freshness, and enough tannins to allow it to evolve for 15+ years.
Rating: 94+
Other Vintages
2019-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Distinguished as a fine Syrah producing zone since the 18th century, Cornas, like Cote Rotie, is made up of vineyards covering steep and hard-to-work, granite terraces. As a result the region’s wines fell out of favor during the mid 20th century when the global market was more focused on bulk wines and vineyards that yielded high quantities. It wasn’t until the 1980s when a group of energetic young winemakers reestablished the integrity of these precipitous terraces and also began making an ultra-modern style of Syrah. The new style didn’t need a decade before it was drinkable and could reach the consumer faster than the region’s traditional wines. Given the new quality coming out of the zone, its popularity once again soared and today a good Cornas can easily challenge many of those from Hermitage. Characteristics of Syrah from Cornas include teeth-staining flavors of blackberry jam, plum, pepper, violets, smoked game, charcoal, chalk dust and smoke.