Cornas "Billes Noires" AOP 2020
The Cornas "Billes Noires" 2020 from Domaine du Coulet is a single-varietal Syrah from Matthieu Barret's highest-lying granite plots, grown biodynamically and aged without any oak influence.
CHF 107.50
Prices in CHF, including customs duty and all import charges, plus shipping CHF 15 (free from 12 bottles or CHF 300) — no further charges on delivery.
Available for Switzerland
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About this wine
Character
A dark, coolly defined Cornas that holds concentration and freshness together. The fruit is dense and slightly austere, the structure fine-grained, the ageing potential considerable.
Terroir and origin
Cornas, in the northern Rhône. Domaine du Coulet's 20 hectares lie on steep, south-facing terraces cut into the granite rock. For the "Billes Noires", the highest-lying plots go into the glass, and the granite lends the wine its stony, cool minerality that carries through from nose to finish.
Grape variety and vinification
Single-varietal Syrah from vines averaging 40 to 55 years old, with a yield of 23 hectolitres per hectare. Matthieu Barret has farmed biodynamically and been Demeter-certified since 2002; since 2012, mules and horses have worked the terraces instead of tractors. Concrete rules the cellar: from the 2017 vintage onward, Barret has done away with barriques entirely. Add to that minimal sulphur, no fining and no filtration.
On the palate
On the nose, cassis and blackcurrant liqueur, sweet blackberries and dried fruit, followed by fine chocolate, liquorice and truffle. Sage, rosemary and green pepper bring freshness. The entry feels refreshing, and the dark berry fruit, slightly austere, is carried by fine-grained tannin and cool minerality. 13.0% vol., dry.
Special features
Seventh generation in Cornas: in 1997 Matthieu Barret joined his grandfather's estate, and in 2000 he bottled his first own vintage, whereas previously the grapes had been sold off. The "Billes Noires" comes from the estate's highest plots, with no oenological additives whatsoever, sulphur added only at bottling. Decanting essential.
