Syrah is one of my personal favorites, one could categorize Syrah into two camps: the Fine and Elegant camp and the Powerful and Bold camp. While French wines seem to rule the social media alongside some popular Italian and American wines, shiraz seems to have fallen back. Slowly it’s just becoming a wine of closely knit circles of wine lovers and in the world of Syrah, Cornas is once in a blue moon. If you enjoy a dark, brooding, meaty, burly glass of wine and have not tried Cornas; you are missing it.

The Cornas wine region, located in the northern Rhône Valley of France, has a rich and ancient history deeply rooted in winemaking traditions. The name “Cornas” likely comes from a Celtic or pre-Roman word meaning "burnt land" ("cornasse" in local dialect), referring to the sun-scorched, south-facing slopes ideal for viticulture. The area has been cultivated since at least Roman times, with vines planted along the steep granite hills. The terraced plantings and earliest known “chaillées” (dry stone walls) supporting them were, in all possibility, the work of the Romans. The first written indication of vineyards in the area dates to the 10th century, when the Canon of Viviers mentioned in his writings that the church in Cornas was “surrounded by vines”. Further documents dating from 1763 mention the “powerful wines” produced in the village. 

Cornas gained more individual recognition in the 19th century for its robust and age-worthy red wines.

Still, it remained relatively obscure compared to other Rhône appellations due to limited production and geographical isolation. In the above map, it can be seen pretty much as one of the smallest sub regions in the valley.  Cornas was officially granted Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status in 1938, one of the earliest in France.

The AOC only allows 100% Syrah—this sets it apart, as Cornas produces only red wine. Generally, the Cornas wines do not attract such high prices as their better-known siblings to the north, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie. 

Cornas has only about 164 hectares (395 acres) of vineyards on the western bank of the Rhône River. A region away from the criticization of over production due to its pretty much miniscule size. To put into perspective Lafite Rothschild has 227 hectares under Grand Vin in Bordeaux.

The Terroir of Cornas

The “trademark” shape in the form of a natural amphitheater, with its extremely steep slopes allow the vines to suck up sunshine while enjoying shelter from the wind, Syrah ripens more easily here than anywhere else in the Northern Rhône. Thus, its vines ripen earliest, around a week before Hermitage just across the river.

Cornas sits on a large chunk of granite, solid Massif Central granite and Feldspars, which are groups of minerals distinguished by the presence of silicate alumina which have a high content of potassium and micas, the other minerals of granite. The vine is in fact quite hungry for potassium and iron to give colour to the skin of the Syrah grape.

The middle Cornas has proven itself to be the best of the terroir. At best spots the wines are bold but also have great freshness.

 Rhône River needs to get full credit as it has literally sculpted the region. As it forced through towards the sea. It has created a terrain of steep slope cut into terraces; at places there are few vines just clinging to the slopes.The region best absorbs the sun with the amphitheater shape; the slopes and soil structure contributed to the renown of Cornas wines having exceptional ageing potential thanks to their magnificent tannins. 

The Best Sites

Chaillot, Reynard, Geynale, La Sabarotte

Top Producers

Auguste Clape – Domaine Clape

Often credited with preserving the traditional, rustic style of Cornas.  Auguste Clape, who died in 2018, was, to many, the face of the ‘real’ Cornas.  precisely blended from five to six cuvées of the oldest vines in the best sites. The estate comprises only 8 hectares (20 acres) of old vines on prime parcels of sunny, steeply terraced vineyards on the western banks of the Rhône. The grapes are picked as late as possible for optimum ripeness, which often involves risky gambling with the weather. Individual parcels are fermented in old oval foudres.

The backbone comes from Reynard, La Côte and Sabarotte. The old vines here are la Petite Syrah, the old clone considered by many to be the true Syrah, which creates a stunningly deep and complex wine that will develop for decades.

Wine: Domaine Clape Cornas, and Renaissance.

Thierry Allemand

Thierry Allemand was not born into a family with a winemaking history or ownership of a domaine. He entered the wine world at a very young age, and after working for a few years at Robert Michel’s estate, he acquired his first plot in 1981 and spent his weekends planting it with vines. His total holdings are 3.4 hectares today.

While he is a modern master of Cornas winemaking, he is also known to have a tradictionl outlook with some eccentricity.  He sometimes employs a degree of carbonic maceration, for example and is an advocate of very low sulphur intervention, citing it as a reason for allowing Syrah to mature without the risk of the taint of reduction. He brought innovation to Cornas wine making and a new following with a more nuanced, elegant expression of Syrah.

Wines: Les Chaillots and Les Reynards

Alain Voge

Alain Voge is among the legendary stalwart of Cornas. the domaine spans more than 12 hectares: eight in Cornas and four in St Péray. Farmed organically and biodynamically.

Alan got his understanding of winemaking early in childhood while working the family vineyards. He learned to manually plough, lay roots, pruning etc. and understood that wine making is a time-taking process.

Until the 1950’s wines were sold in 225-liter barrels to café owners and merchants. Alain with his father Louis bottled a small quantity of wine by themselves, allowing them to sell it themselves. In the 1970’s he saw potential in some areas and started redevelopment on uncultivated land, started with a pickaxe and shovel then later a mechanical digger which moved on tracks avoiding the damage of natural walls. The plots were Challiot and La Cote.

He was one of the first in the village to have a detailed and controlled plot system.

Wines: Les Chailles, Les Vieilles Vignes (vines from 1925), Les Vieilles Fontaines, Chapelle Saint-Pierre

To conclude, the wines are of top shelf quality at a very reasonable price point for most. They are brooding and powerful on the classic side and much fresher versions made by modern producers. These are the wines that will age gracefully and in coming years may be rare commodities from some selected producers making them great investments. A wine that will age and will be part of special occasions in your life.

Written By: Arnav Das