Noel Verset Cornas 1998
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Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
Product Details
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Somm Note
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Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Unusual because it's very raisiny, like an old-fashioned Zinfandel, but there are lots of concentrated, sweet-tasting flavors in this silky gem. Full-bodied, it displays layers of character, starting with mineral and ending with black fruit and plum. Great finish. An ager.
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Wine Enthusiast
Dry black-cherry fruit with rosemary, olive and licorice accents open this medium-full wine. It's very Rhône, ripe, deep and complex, with fine fruit-acid balance and peppery accents. The Provençal herb note was loved by some, but was too green and tree-bark-like for other tasters. Finishes long and dry with broad, even tannins.
Other Vintages
1997-
Spectator
Wine
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Parker
Robert
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.