Cornas is a tiny appellation, covering 145 hectares (compared with Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s 3,000+), and home to fewer than 50 vignerons. Located at the southern end of the Northern Rhône Valley, Cornas (which means “scorched earth” in Celtic) harvests a week earlier than Hermitage (just 20 minutes north), and the vertiginous slopes produce wines with a southern, sunbaked character.
Cornas is a tiny appellation. It covers 145 hectares (compared with Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s 3,000+), and is home to fewer than 50 vignerons. The name comes from the Celtic word for “burnt earth,” and it’s an appropriate moniker: Cornas is pure Syrah like the rest of the Northern Rhône, but the feel is of something sunnier from further South.
Syrah is at its finest in the Northern Rhône. Appellations such as Hermitage, Côte Rôtie, and Cornas produce transcendent expressions of the grape, combining darkly beautiful notes of blackberry and plum with spices, minerals, and savory umami notes.
Cornas is a tiny appellation. It covers 145 hectares (compared with Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s 3,000+), and is home to fewer than 50 vignerons. The name comes from the Celtic word for “burnt earth,” and it’s an appropriate moniker: Cornas is pure Syrah like the rest of the Northern Rhône, but the feel is of something farther to the South.
The Domaine Dumien-Serrette is relatively new to the Ansonia portfolio, but hardly new to their hometown of Cornas -- records show Dumiens living there in 1515. Our allocation from this grower last year was so small that it sold out entirely in Futures, and we weren’t able to offer any of their delicious 2016 Cornas from inventory.