2018 Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes Alain Voge

The 2018 Cornas Vieilles Vignes blends fruit from some of the top lieux-dits of the appellation: Combe, Patou, La Côte, Les Mazards and Chaillot. Aged 20 months in approximately 15% new oak, it's a dark, inky-hued wine, but one that retains bright, fresh fruit notes of red raspberries and plums alongside hints of cedar and menthol. It's full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with a firm, granitic structure and sense of restraint, fine-grained, almost silky tannins and tremendous length.

Vigneron Alain Voge died in September 2020 but had been fully retired for more than a decade, with the business being run by Albéric Mazoyer from 2006-2018 and by Lionel Fraisse since then. The Voge wines are neither hardcore traditional nor modern; let's call them classic renderings of Cornas, destemmed and touched with oak and farmed along biodynamic principles.

Galloni 95,

The 2018 Cornas Vieilles Vignes blends fruit from some of the top lieux-dits of the appellation: Combe, Patou, La Côte, Les Mazards and Chaillot. Aged 20 months in approximately 15% new oak, it's a dark, inky-hued wine, but one that retains bright, fresh fruit notes of red raspberries and plums alongside hints of cedar and menthol. It's full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with a firm, granitic structure and sense of restraint, fine-grained, almost silky tannins and tremendous length.

Vigneron Alain Voge died in September 2020 but had been fully retired for more than a decade, with the business being run by Albéric Mazoyer from 2006-2018 and by Lionel Fraisse since then. The Voge wines are neither hardcore traditional nor modern; let's call them classic renderings of Cornas, destemmed and touched with oak and farmed along biodynamic principles.

Dunnuck 98, 

While not submitted to my tasting (and it wasn't presented from barrel last year), it would be hard to imagine there won't be a Les Vieilles Fontaines cuvée. Don't miss a chance to buy a bottle if you find one. Moving to the 2018 Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes, this beauty is cut from the same cloth as the Les Chailles yet is deeper and richer, with another level of concentration. Black and blue fruits, ground pepper, violets, smoked game, and loads of spring flower notes define the bouquet, and it has a vibrant, almost old school vibe that carries plenty of power yet still stays light and elegant on the palate. This beautiful, singular wine is open and enjoyable today, yet I wouldn't be surprised to see it close down with a year or two of bottle age. It should see its 20th birthday in fine form.