Only made in top vintages, the 2012 Cornas Vieilles Fontaines is one of the true superstars in this vintage. First made in 1998, it comes all from the La Fontaine lieu dit (located in the southern part of the appellation) and spends 24 months in roughly 25% new French oak.

A sensational effort and one of the top wines in the vintage, it offers beautiful black raspberry and cassis notes to go with ample chocolate, violets, licorice and hints of minerality. Big, full-bodied, sexy and voluptuously textured, with awesome purity of fruit, it will seem more classic Cornas with short-term cellaring and have 20+ years of overall longevity.

I was thrilled to see the 2012 Cornas Vieilles Fontaines still showing so well as I was blown away by it last year. A sensational effort and one of the top wines in the vintage, it offers beautiful black raspberry and cassis notes to go with ample chocolate, violets, licorice and hints of minerality. Big, full-bodied, sexy and voluptuously textured, with awesome purity of fruit, it will seem more classic Cornas with short-term cellaring and have 20+ years of overall longevity.

Opaque ruby. Ripe dark berries, cola and fruitcake on the deeply perfumed nose. Plush and sweet on entry, then tighter in the middle palate, offering intense blackberry liqueur and bitter cherry flavors underscored and sharpened by juicy acidity. Finishes on a smoky mineral note, with outstanding energy and length and slow-building tannins. This brawny Cornas really calls for patience, or at the very least a bit of time in a decanter.

Barrel sample. From their oldest vines (above 80 years old). Due to be bottled in November 2014. Freshly sawn oak aromas, succulent black fruit. The nice thing about this wine is that is not at all over-extracted or heavy as so many top cuvées can be. In fact it has a charming subtlety and gracefulness. Clay textured tannins, long finish. (RH)