Cornas “Brise Cailloux” 2017

The wine shows a rich violet colour with an opaque core, clear and shiny in the glass.

Completely dispensing with notes suggesting sweetness, a cherry compote with cloves and cinnamon stick simmers away, leisurely thickening, spreading the scent of fresh dark berries. Sloe, blackcurrant and heart cherry merely hint at the silhouettes of their fruity faces in a sheer impenetrable mist of freshly ground black pepper, mustard seeds and dried paprika and chilli. Earthy spice, resembling porcini mushrooms grilled over an open fire, draws the juicy fruit under its dark spell.

After decanting and swirling, a panorama of aromas opens up that makes you smell far...

Powerful yet stout and precise rather than overloaded and saturated, the 2017 Brise Cailloux from Domaine du Coulet's Cornas emerges on the palate. The smoky and spicy heaviness that the single-varietal Syrah suggests on the nose, however, is replaced by density and is nicely balanced. The dark berry yet fresh fruit of Matthieu Barret's wine, coupled with the finest pepper spice do credit to its origins. Teasing acidity clenches its fist, stretches it into the air and lets this Cornas linger and outlast, like a massive, black rock in wild surf.