The inky colored 2016 Cornas Les Vieilles Fontaines is the flagship of the estate and comes from the La Fontaine lieu-dit. It sees a longer maceration and between 15-20% new barrels. It offers a powerful, concentrated, incredibly textured style as well as lifted notes of cassis and blueberry fruits, ground pepper, violets, and graphite, with subtle background new oak in the background. It's full-bodied, rich, and sexy, with tons of glycerin and fat, yet still manages to hold onto its classic Cornas character. As always, this cuvée shines for its richness and depth, yet has fabulous purity as well. Only made in top vintages (it was previously made in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2015), it needs 2-4 years of bottle age but will keep for upward of two decades. It's another rich, incredibly powerful Cornas from 2016 that checks in near the top of the vintage. Dec 2018

Dark and winey, with a large core of steeped plum and blackberry fruit, infused liberally with sage, sweet tapenade, bay leaf and violet notes. The long finish pulls everything together into a dense but defined beam. Best from 2022 through 2040. 580 cases made, 25 cases imported. JM Nov 2019

Looking much better than the sample I reviewed last year, the 2016 Cornas Vieilles Fontaines has come into its own. It's still cedary but also mammothly concentrated in blackberry and plum fruit, all underscored by notes of crushed granite. Full-bodied and muscular, it's elegant at the same time, with mouthwatering, juicy fruit and softly dusty tannins on the long finish. JC Dec 2019

Dark purple. Deep-pitched cassis, blueberry, candied licorice and violet aromas are complicated by olive and licorice nuances. Broad and expansive on the palate, offering deeply concentrated black and blue fruit liqueur, spicecake and floral pastille flavors and an incense-tinged flourish of smoky minerals. Becomes sweeter and more energetic with air and finishes extremely long and spicy, with slow-building tannins and lingering florality. JR Sept 2019