Brilliant ruby. Intense blackberry and cherry aromas are complicated by suggestions of exotic spices, olive, cracked pepper and pungent flowers. Youthfully chewy, appealingly sweet black and blue fruit flavors deepen and turn spicier with air; a smoky mineral element adds back-end lift and cut. Rounded tannins add subtle grip to an impressively long, floral- and spice-driven finish that leaves salty olive and cola notes behind. All whole clusters.

Tasting the finished blend from tank just before bottling, this is rounded, perfumed and measured; a rich, fresh and sunny style of vintage, with a salty finish.

Looking first at the 2018 Cornas Chaillot, this beauty offers up a supple, medium to full-bodied, impeccably balanced style as well as lively red and black fruits supported by notes of leather, pepper, and violets. This is the younger vine cuvée of the estate and comes from vines averaging upwards of 40 years in age. Not destemmed, it’s vinified in a mix of tank and open top wooden vats and is aged in older barrels. It’s a beautiful, elegant, seamless Cornas that shows the hallmark elegance of this estate.