Guillaume Gilles Cornas 2022
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The Land
Cornas is the one red appellation of the northern Rhône where Syrah stands entirely alone: no Viognier, no Marsanne, no Roussanne permitted in the blend. It is also warmer than its neighbors, running roughly a degree above Côte-Rôtie, with Syrah ripening about a week before Hermitage across the river. The appellation covers only around 145 hectares of planted vines on the west bank opposite Valence, much of it on steep, south and southeast-facing terraces of Massif Central granite. Guillaume Gilles's Cornas comes from the upper slopes of Chaillot, one of the appellation's most respected lieux-dits. Here the vines sit between 200 and 350 meters on terraces of pure granite facing east-southeast, alongside terraces on a clay-limestone base with a southern exposure. That mix of rock and aspect gives this Syrah from Cornas both its dark weight and its mineral grip.
The Wine
One hundred percent Syrah, hand-harvested and fermented as whole bunches, never destemmed, with native yeasts. Maceration runs three to four weeks, long enough to pull out color and tannin without forcing it. The wine then spends 18 months in older demi-muids and 400-liter barrels, so the wood shapes texture rather than flavor, and it is bottled with neither fining nor filtration. The 2022 season was one of the hardest in recent memory: May was among the hottest on record, three heatwaves pushed temperatures past 40°C, and by late May the region had seen a third of its usual rain. A 90mm storm on August 15 rescued the vines, and harvest came historically early. The Guillaume Gilles Cornas 2022 leans into the dark side of the appellation: blackberry, black cherry, licorice, iron and crushed stone, with dense, fine-grained tannin and a long, savory finish.
The People
Guillaume Gilles grew up in Lyon, but his grandfather had farmed vines in Cornas, and as a young man he took over half a hectare of family vines in the Les Peyrouses sector. Beginning around 2002 he apprenticed with Robert Michel, the Cornas traditionalist behind the old La Geynale bottling, and later worked with Jean-Louis Chave in Hermitage. When Michel retired after the 2006 vintage, he leased his prime Chaillot parcel and his cellar to Gilles, who founded his own domaine in 2007. Today he farms about 5 hectares across Cornas, Saint-Péray and the Doux valley, all worked by hand and with horses, yields held near 35 hl/ha, and certified organic since 2020. His stated goal in the cellar is to interfere as little as possible.
Food Pairing
This is a wine for serious protein. Try a leg of lamb studded with garlic and rosemary, roasted pink, where the tannin binds to the fat and the wine's herbal edge meets the rosemary. Grilled hanger steak with black pepper and a spoon of anchovy butter plays the salt against the iron in the wine. A daube of beef braised with olives and orange peel gives the dark fruit something rich to sit alongside. With a wedge of aged Tomme or Beaufort, the tannin scrubs the cheese clean. Decant it an hour ahead, or put it in the cellar for a decade and open it for the dinner you are already planning.
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The Rhône Valley is a diverse and historic wine region, divided into two distinct areas. The Northern Rhône is the birthplace of Syrah, with steep, terraced vineyards that produce some of the world's most revered wines, such as those from Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie. The Southern Rhône is much more expansive, offering a wider range of styles, but typically based around Grenache-based blends, with wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape known for their complexity and power. While the region is celebrated for its reds, it also produces incredible textured whites, and as a whole the region displays the spectrum of French wine and the incredible differences that can come from small geographic changes.
Rhone Valley
Syrah is a dark-skinned grape of French origin, specifically from the Northern Rhône Valley, where it produces some of the world's most powerful and complex wines. Known as Shiraz in Australia, Syrah is capable of displaying a wide range of aromas and flavors. Cool climate Syrahs tend to express floral notes like violets, along with savory elements like olives, while those grown in warmer climates like Australia are more likely to show black pepper and dark fruit notes such as plum. The grape's versatility allows it to adapt to various climates and soil types, but it maintains its unique characteristics no matter where it is planted.
