2002 Domaine Thierry Allemand Cornas Sans Soufre

Medium ruby-red. Black fruits, black pepper eau de vie, gunflint, cocoa powder and tapenade on the nose. Fairly dense but juicy, with flavors of licorice, black olive and fresh herbs nicely framed by edgy acidity. Offers accurate if cool syrah character, with the wine's slight greenness contributing freshness. A tad dry on the back. Allemand , who bottles his wines with very low levels of free sulfur, noted that Cornas had riper fruit at the time of the early September rains than most Saint-Joseph sites in 2002. He told me he was able to pick with reasonably ripe phenolics and decent grape sugars, and in his hillside vineyards there was less risk of rot.