Brilliant purple. Powerful, mineral-tinged cherry and blackberry scents, along with notes of bacon fat, licorice, potpourri and pungent flowers. Pure, concentrated and energetic on the palate, offering deeply concentrated black and blue fruit flavors that gain weight and become sweeter with air. Closes extremely long, sappy and sweet, juicy acidity adding lift and cut to the blue-fruit-dominated, youthfully tannic finish.

Solidly packed, with a bramble-edged core of dark plum, bitter cherry and black currant fruit, inlaid with bay leaf and savory notes. The serious chalky grip through the finish will need some time to stretch out. Shows terrific interplay between the grip and fruit. Best from 2020 through 2030.

The 2014s are more elegant, silky and streamlined, yet offer classic characters and will evolve gracefully. Similar to the Renaissance, with tons of cedary spice, pepper, iron, beef blood, crushed rock and new saddle leather, the 2014 Cornas is medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated and structured, with ripe, present tannin. It needs 2-4 years of cellaring and will have 10-15 years of longevity.-