2011 Cornas Chaillot
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Tasting notes
The 2011 Cornas Chaillot has a surprisingly earthy nose, singed leather, almost Médocian in style, intense and very well defined but less outgoing than I anticipated. The palate displays lovely marine-influenced black fruit, structured but not heavy, though I am seeking a little more length on the finish. (NM)
Critic scores
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Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
Inky purple. Sexy, mineral-laced black and blue fruit aromas are complemented by notes of licorice, violet and black tea. Juicy and precise, offering intense boysenberry and bitter cherry flavors and a touch of spicecake that gains strength with aeration. The floral note comes back strong on the strikingly persistent finish, which is firmed by dusty, fine-grained tannins. Plenty deep and intense but comes off as a bit more lithe than the even deeper and sappier Reynard.
Tasted in two components, and there's no guarantee that these are the ones that Allemand will ultimately blend for this bottling: #1: From argilo-calcaire soils; vivid red berries and cherry on the nose and in the mouth. Shows very good energy and clarity, with strong finishing cut and length. #2: From more granitic soils; deeper, darker and altogether more masculine, with black and blue fruit flavors and a bracing spine of minerality. Shows a suave blend of power and energy and finishes with firm mineral bite and excellent persistence.
About the producer
Allemand’s wines set the benchmark for Cornas: expressive Syrahs crafted with uncompromising traditional methods and released in tiny quantities. From the 1980s, he revived abandoned vineyards on Cornas’s steep granite slopes, building his domaine without inherited land or financial support.