2012 Cornas La Sabarotte
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Tasting notes
Aged for 20 months in French oak, of which 60 to 80% is new. Black, juicy fruits on the nose, perhaps more ripe and open than some Cornas can be, but the palate has the inescapable bitter, juniper note of the appellation. Liquid austerity in structure, but thankfully fruity enough to balance. (RH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Glossy, perfumed and earthy. Creamy, chewy, yielding. Meaty notes. Still youthful but opening up with delicious complexity. Still much to give. (RH)
Rich, ripe fruit that is almost disloyal to the tradition of this origin. Modern, fresh vanilla oak influence too. Potent and expressive. (RH)
In the same ballpark, the 2012 Cornas La Sabarotte (aged 16-18 months in 100% new French oak) offers ample graphite, creme de cassis, licorice and crushed flower notes, with loads of textbook Cornas meatiness in the background. It too is a medium to full-bodied, fresh, vibrant, yet seriously concentrated effort that shows the vintage beautifully. Give it a couple years in the cellar and enjoy it over the following 10-12 years or so. This was a stacked lineup from this top-notch estate, and I was able to taste through the lineup multiple times, once while visiting the domaine, and again in a larger lineup of wines from each appellation. They never failed to impress. Located in the tiny town of Chateaubourg and covering roughly 50 acres in Saint-Joseph and 20 in Cornas, most of which are ideally situated, Courbis is now run by Laurent and Dominique Courbis, with Laurent running the cellar and Dominique managing the vineyards. Despite the high quality, these wines remain reasonably priced, and also see good distribution in the US. It’s an estate that needs to be on every Northern Rhone lover’s short list. Importer: Russell Herman, Berkeley Heights, NJ; tel. (908) 771-9082