2009 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas La Geynale

A blockbuster Cornas that does everything right, the 2009 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas La Geynale is for consumers with a cold cellar and a fair bit of patience. Showing an inky color and gorgeous aromas of crème de cassis, chocolate-laced blackberries, smoked meats, and searing minerality, this beauty hits the palate with a full-bodied, powerful texture, fantastic concentration, and masses of tannin. Impressive to say the least, but instant gratification is not the theme here and this is one of those wines that is more fun to taste than to drink; it needs 4-5 years, minimum, of bottle age, and should be very long lived. Overall, a spectacular Cornas that is worth the effort to track down.

Opaque ruby. Dark fruits, licorice and bitter chocolate on the intense, perfumed nose. Youthfully brooding, deeply pitched cassis and cherry compote flavors open up with air and pick up strong spice and floral pastille qualities. Finishes firmly tannic and very long, with resonating spiciness and florality. This promising wine really deserves patience.

A monstrous but incredibly well-balanced wine with impressive purity is the 2009 Cornas La Geynale. Aromas of crushed rocks, black fruits, camphor and spring flowers soar from the glass of this massive 2009. Offering more creme de cassis and blackberry fruit flavors in the mouth than its siblings, this full-bodied, deep, unctuously textured effort also needs 5-6 years of cellaring. It, too, should drink well for 20-25 years. While the 2009s are softer and more accessible (because of lower acids and more opulent textures), they are extremely large-scaled, substantial reds that will benefit from a few more years of cellaring. Importer: A Thomas Calder Selection (various importers). Paris fax: 011 33 1 46 45 15 29