2001 - Cornas Reynard, Thierry Allemand

Bright medium ruby. Pure aromas of blackberry, black raspberry and violet; more deeply pitched and less expressive today than the Chaillot. Bigger and thicker in the mouth but also with terrific verve and floral perfume. Clearly higher in volatile acidity than the Chaillot. (Incidentally, my sample of the 2001 Verset Cornas, which I assume was from Verset's later bottling following the summer of 2003, was unacceptably volatile, with a dominant flavor of grapefruit. ) But still rather closed on the finish, which features excellent density, strong peppery tannins and impressive persistence.