Thierry Allemand Cornas "Chaillot" 2021
(Cornas, Northern Rhône, France) 750 mL - [JD 91-94]

About the Winery:
Today, there is no more unique figure in the Northern Rhône than Cornas’ Thiérry Allemand. Though not yet in his 50s, he has been mythologized in much the same way as past greats like Noël Verset, Marius Gentaz and August Clape. He created his domaine from scratch, inheriting nothing from his ancestors. And because he also didn’t have a family fortune behind him, much of his domaine was assembled by laboriously restoring abandoned parcels in great terroirs.

Finally, while deeply rooted in the past, Thiérry’s approach to winemaking is uniquely his. He began in the early 1980s by learning at the feet of two Cornas legends, Joseph Michel and Noël Verset, and has gone on to apply a quarter century of personal experience. He has arrived, finally, at a philosophy that, while squarely in the traditional camp, produces wine whose purity and expression of grape variety and place are unrivaled by anyone in Cornas.

About this Wine:
Cornas Chaillot is based on his vines in Chaillot, but it also includes fruit from the domaine’s younger vines, including Reynard.

Techinical Information

Varietal: 100% Syrah
Vine Age: 5 - 40 yrs
Soil Type: Limestone, Granite
Vineyard Area: 2.02 ha

Viticulture & Vinification:
• Farms organically, working steep, terraced vineyards all by hand (no tractor!)
• Dense plantings naturally reduce yields (< 30 hectoliters per hectare)
• All wines are fermented in stainless steel and open-top wooden vats
• Stems left on cluster during fermentation
• Punch-downs by foot
• All wines are vinified separately
• Wines aged in foudres and barriques for 24 months before final blending and bottling
• Finished wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered
• Very low doses of sulfur, sometimes none at all

Ratings & Reviews

91-94 Points - Jeb Dunuck:
"Not yet bottled, the 2021 Cornas Chaillot is a beautiful, wildly perfumed, floral Cornas offering medium-bodied richness, lots of red, blue, and black fruits, some subtle lavender and sappy flower notes, fine tannins, and outstanding length. It certainly makes the most of the vintage and is well worth your time." (Mar 2024)