Cornas AOC
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Cornas is a wine-growing AOC in the northern Rhône wine region of France south of Lyon. The vineyards are just North of Valence, in a fairly small area of steep slopes facing east south east, south of Tain l'Hermitage. It is, along with Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage, a good place to grow Syrah grapes.
Most wines produced in the region are reds made from the Syrah grape. This grape is now also widely known as Shiraz, the name by which it is known in Australia. That country has made it a very popular variety with consumers around the world. It can age over 40 years. Unlike other northern Rhône red wines, no addition of white grapes is permitted.
Cornas used to produce only extremely hearty red wines, but under the impulse of winemaker Jean-Luc Colombo, a new fruit forward style has emerged, revealing an elegant yet powerful and "black" wine. Rich, inky, and dense, this is a serious red wine. Long in the shadow of the more famous neighboring appellations Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage, other AOCs from the northern Rhône, Cornas wine sells at a fraction of its neighbors' much higher prices. The whole AOC was recently rated #1 in the Rhône wine region for the homogeneity and consistency of the quality of its wines by La Revue du Vin de France.
