Cornas "La Géniale Patronne" 2017

A Cornas built on precision rather than power. On the nose, dark fruit of blackberry and mulberry, tartly countered by elderberry and wild raspberry, underscored by fine smoke, a distinct iron note, juniper and black pepper. In the glass, dark ruby red with a black core.

The vines stand in Cornas in the northern Rhône on weathered granite soils streaked with clay and calcareous silt. This wine is harvested from a selection of young and old vines from the mid-slope sections of Barret's hillsides. Matthieu Barret has farmed the twenty hectares of steep, south-facing terraces biodynamically since 2002, and since 2012 mules and horses have worked the vineyards instead of tractors.

100 percent Syrah at an average yield of 25 hectolitres per hectare. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks, ageing in concrete eggs. As of the 2017 vintage, the estate has done away with barriques entirely. The principle: 100 percent grape, minimal sulphur, no fining, no filtration.

The tannins speak first, tight-knit and fine-grained around youthfully fresh fruit. They give the wine not overall volume or a showy entrance, but length. The finish stays peppery and lingers long. At 13.5% ABV, the wine remains dry and lively.

It pairs with pigeon with baby turnips and a sauce bound with smoked butter, with turbot in a pumpernickel crust with parsnip purée and beurre rouge and, for a vegetarian option, with baked beetroot with roasted aubergine, wild herbs and salted walnuts.

Seventh generation in Cornas: in 1997 Matthieu Barret joined his grandfather, a year later he took over the vineyards, and in 2000 he bottled his first vintage. No new oak, no oenological additives, sulphur added only at bottling.