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.

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.

100% Syrah, the Reynard, confusingly, comes from the Chaillot parcel but is from vines over 40 years old (younger-vine fruit goes into the Chaillot cuvée). Cask samples tasted at the domaine. Sample 1 Stunning dense purple core. Intense reductive wild and smoky nose with roasted game. Such intensity on the palate with bacon, violets and saline mineral notes. Very firm tannins, very tight structure and stunning purity. Sample 2 Vivid, vibrant, pure nose with blackcurrant and graphite mineral notes. Ripe and sweet fruit with finely polished tannins that support the vibrant acidity that runs throughout the spine of this wine. There's a suggestion of peppery, clove and eucalypt spice underneath just waiting to emerge with time. Impressive. (AC)