2020 Cornas Renaissance
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Tasting notes
The 2020 Cornas Renaissance is rock star juice and it's up with the finest examples of this cuvée I've tasted. Awesome red, blue, and black fruit, charred meats, pepper, and liquid violet notes all emerge from this full-bodied Cornas, which has a round, layered mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. I'm probably underrating it. Give bottles 2-4 years and enjoy over the following two decades. I was thrilled to be able to retaste the 2020s during my visit with Pierre-Marie Clape, and it’s safe to say I underrated these last year. They’ve have morphed into heavenly wines that are unquestionably in the same league as the estate 2010s, 2018s, and 2019s. The 2021s here have pure, classic, old school-like profiles with more moderate concentration and depth, but good balance as well as length. Harkening back to wines from the 1980s, they’re already approachable yet should have 10-15 years of interesting drinking.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
The 2020 Cornas Renaissance is delicious. It bursts with crushed violet, cured meat, menthol and black fruit aromatics. Peppery layers add more complexity. Offering increased concentration and an even riper profile than the 2022, I have no doubt that the powerful and neatly balanced 2020 Renaissance will be a long-distance runner. Medium- to full-bodied, it concludes with persistence on the complex finish.
Dark violet. Offers dark berry preserves, fruitcake, smoky minerals, olive and pungent flower notes on the highly perfumed nose. Stains the palate with sappy black and blue fruit and floral pastille flavors; black pepper and mineral accents add lift and back-end cut. Quite deep but energetic as well, finishing on a building tannic note and with impressive, dark fruit-dominated persistence.
I tasted two components that will make up the bulk of the 2020 Cornas Renaissance, both still in foudre. From Patou and 15- to 20-year-old vines, a medium to full-bodied sample featuring mentholated red plum notes, chewy tannins and mouthwatering acids (90 - 92). From Reynard and 30-year-old vines, a medium to full-bodied sample that showed more cassis fruit, silky tannins and great freshness (93 - 95). They should make a lovely Cornas for drinking over the next 10-15 years.