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.
98 Points Vinous
Glass-staining violet. Heady, mineral-accented black and blue fruits, candied licorice, potpourri, exotic spices and olive scents on the intensely perfumed nose. Pliant, sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering deeply concentrated blackberry, cassis, fruitcake, smoky bacon and floral pastille flavors that are underscored by a vein of juicy acidity. Shows superb depth as well as liveliness and finishes wonderfully long and minerally, with resonating florality and polished tannins adding shape and a firming grip. Drink 2029-2039.
97+ Points Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship 2019 Cornas Reynard comes from the older vines of the estate and is brought up in larger barrels. It’s another incredible effort from this estate that certainly checks in near the top of the scale. Deep purple/plum-hued, with a monster bouquet of black cherries and plum fruits as well as hints of iron, sappy flowers, and bouquet garni, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered mid-palate, and a great finish. It shows the more structured, age-worthy style of the vintage, and the tannins clamp down firmly on the finish. While this will need a solid decade of bottle age, it’s up there with some of the greatest Cornas ever produced. Drink after 2032.