Today, there is no more unique figure in the Northern Rhône than Cornas’ Thiérry Allemand. Though only in his 50s, he has been mythologized in much the same way as past greats like Noël Verset, Marius Gentaz and August Clape. He created his domaine from scratch, inheriting nothing from his ancestors. And because he also didn’t have a family fortune behind him, much of his domaine was assembled by laboriously restoring abandoned parcels in great terroirs.
While deeply rooted in the past, Thiérry’s approach to winemaking is uniquely his. He began in the early 1980s by learning at the knees of two Cornas legends, Joseph Michel and Noël Verset, but has gone on to apply a quarter century of personal experience. He has arrived, finally, at a philosophy that, while squarely in the traditional camp, produces wine whose purity and expression of grape variety and place are unrivalled by anyone in Cornas.
96 points James Suckling
Incredible florals and fragrance here. Alluring dark cherry and plum fruits with a dark, meaty and slate-like stony edge. The tannins are exceptional, very long and very deep, delivering a plush palate with a firm, deep-set plum stone finish.
94+ points Vinous
Opaque purple. Spicy, highly perfumed aromas of cassis, blueberry, candied violet and smoky minerals. Densely packed, fresh and delineated, offering energetic flavors of black and blue fruits and floral pastilles. Shows a restrained sweetness on the finish, which features slow-building tannins and a strong echo of minerality. This wine was scheduled to be bottled about a week after I tasted it from its holding tank.