La Route du Vin: Alain Voge's Wonderful (and Rare) Cornas Vielles Vignes

The Beautiful, Secret Valley where you will find the Cornas Vineyards

"Voge who was rumored to be in the process of selling his estate, has turned out a fabulous 2003 Cornas Vieilles Vignes made from yields of 20 hectoliters per hectare or less. An impenetrable inky/ purple color offers up scents of scorched earth, roasted meats, blackberry liqueur, licorice, and incense. Supple tannin belies the fact that this is a substantial, high test effort that is unusually approachable and civilized for such a young Cornas. The powerful, rich 2003 should be at its finest between 2007-2018." An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, a terrific wine! Rated 93, Robert Parker The Wine Advocate

And another observation from Robert Parker:
"His (Voge) wines more than any grower's of this appellation, do indeed resemble fine Hermitage with their intense display of rich, smoky, black fruit."

I cannot tell you how many times I have served this wine and absolutely wowed my guests. Almost to a person, they have never heard of Cornas, never heard of Alain Voge, but they are begging to know how they can find out more and get some in their cellar by the last drops in the bottle. It is full-throttle, smooth, sweet black fruit in a glass.

I stumbled (no pun intended) upon it in the Rhone Valley at a very large tasting. It was late afternoon and with my palate nearly numb from the river of wine that had been flowing over it during the last six hours, I assumed that it was a little too late for a wine epiphany. Wrong! Off in the corner of the dauntingly large meeting hall, I noticed, Domaine Alain Voge, having trouble keeping empty glasses wet with wine. The gaggle of importers pressing in was a dead giveaway and I wasn't about to be left out of the hunt.

I swooped down on the table parrying and thrusting with my Reidel (deftly and delicately) and got a small gush of the Cornas Vieilles Vignes. This red was positively heady with its intense fruit and superb smoothness. It was like an Hermitage with some age on it. Whoopee! I developed an instant appetite. In fact, the wine stuck out for me as one of the best wines of the week.

Cornas is like a little stocking foot on the bottom of the much larger wine commune, St Joseph, Cornas only produces red wines made exclusively from the syrah grape. It is a very small appellation with only about 90 hectares planted. Two of the best vineyard areas in Cornas are Les Reynards and La Côte. Les Reynards is a hill you can see from the village. The vines are planted right over the top, which is over 300 metres high. The vines have excellent exposure to the sun. The soil is granite and limestone, a magical combination that allows for good drainage, combined with some clay that retains water during drought conditions that are not infrequent.

You can also see La Côte from the village. These vineyards are terraced and cut out of the steep slope that overlooks the Rhone River. Alain Voge owns 7 hectares in Cornas -- in all the right places. He has been bottling his wine since the 1950s and is the fourth generation to make wine. Alain's entire production is only about 2000 cases. Cornas Vieilles Vignes is made from 30+-year-old vines and aged for 18 months in oak barrels

Cornas is a very big wine and is not for sissies. This results from the fact that Cornas sits in a big dish-like geologic amphitheatre that protects it from the cooling and brutal mistral. The hot, nearly-baking syrah grapes produce juice that is often described as: virile, robust, earthy, black, tannic, brooding, and massive. Doesn't this sound like a wine you would like to get to know? Cynthia Hurley Subscribe to Cynthia’s free newsletter