Josh Morgenthau

9.3

Updated review...
The bottle has been open in my fridge for 1 week and it’s hit a new level... exploding with lots of tropical fruits and the oak playing a buttery supporting role. Fantastic. Preview of good things to come. 9.1 —> 9.3

These are my notes from night 1:
Oak. Pineapple and some preserved lemon. Mineral, only a touch oily and subacid on the palate, though probably not by Rhone white standards. Pretty introvert. Well-measured, but the elements haven’t come together yet. No fireworks at this point in its evolution. — 6 days ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.5

2009 Allemand Horizontal. I absolutely love Allemand’s wines. Always a seamless combination of both elegance and power. Both the Chaillot and Reynard showed perfectly, with the Reynard a bit more concentrated and deep than the Chaillot. Both wines had superb intensity, focus and a wonderful texture with the signature liquid rock, violets, herbs and cassis of Allemand Cornas. Fantastic duo. — 9 days ago

Romain Fitoussi

9.0

Biodynamic Croze, typical of the appellation. Ripe and juicy black fruits, notes of pears, peaches, a hint of wood. The body is supple, with a nice gourmet volume. Roundness, suppleness and beautiful freshness. The finish deploys fairly characteristic minty and peppery notes, violet. Great pleasure.

Croze biodynamique, typique de l’appellation. Fruits noires mûres et juteux, notes de poires, pêches, un brin boisées. Le corps est souple, avec un beau volume gourmand. Rondeur, souplesse et belle fraucheur. La finale déploie des notes mentholées et poivrées, violette, assez caractéristiques. Grand plaisir. — 2 days ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind. Deep yellow gold color. Nice fruit forward nose. Notes of citrus, beeswax, some apricots and some macadamia nuts. Rich and dense in the mouth. Good balance with some nice soft structure to support the rich fruit. Great pairing with our appetizers. This is at peak and ready for consumption. Guessed 2000 Chave Blanc. — 5 days ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.7

2009 Allemand Horizontal. I absolutely love Allemand’s wines. Always a seamless combination of both elegance and power. Both the Chaillot and Reynard showed perfectly, with the Reynard a bit more concentrated and deep than the Chaillot. Both wines had superb intensity, focus and a wonderful texture with the signature liquid rock, violets, herbs and cassis of Allemand Cornas. Fantastic duo. — 9 days ago

Willie Carter

8.9

A rather lively purple color with distinct ruby undertones. Big ripe blackberries and bacon on the nose. Raspberry, fresh herbs, and smoke are present with just enough funk to say hello. Slight touch of olives and earth.

100% Syrah from Cornas may not be what you call a summer sipper but this can withstand a slight chill. There’s plenty of power and character here with smooth tannins and slightly bitter acidity. Very masculine and bigger than I expected. Full bodied and quite generous.

Blue and black fruits dominate the palate, mostly with blueberry cobbler and black currant shining. Stewed plums and licorice combine nicely with the sage and fresh herbs. Pepper and smoke on the longish finish. Cornas almost always delivers and this is no exception. — 15 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

This is lit. Gorgeous nose. Wide open. Granite, mineral, some dark flowers, berry fruit, red and black, loaminess. Smells like a place. Hint of funk that Blows off after 15 minutes. Palate is fresh, energetic, pure and deep. Gorgeous purity and concentration. Herbal, floral and juicy. Velvety and ripe tannins. Terrific structure as it should be. This is very fine. — a day ago

Romain Fitoussi

9.0

Nose on black fruits, pears, peaches and violets. Generous and supple round palate bringing its share of sweet spices, caramel and other well-melted tertiary notes. Authentic wine, unfussy, gourmet and juicy, highlighting this magnificent grape variety, Syrah. the finish deploys menthol, peppery, vegetal notes, very pleasant in length. Perfect as an aperitif. Will certainly go well with grilled pork bacon or equivalent.

Nez sur les fruits noirs, poires, pêches, et violette. Bouche ronde généreuse et souple apportant son lot d’épices douces, caramel et autres notes tertiaires bien fondues. Vin authentique, sans chichis, gourmand et juteux, mettant à l’honneur ce magnifique cépage qu’est la Syrah. La finale déploie des notes mentholées, poivrées, végétales, très agréables de longueur. Parfait dès l’apéro. Ira certainement très bien avec du porc grillé bacon ou équivalent. — 5 days ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Drinking well that is showing lots of depth & purity with an ethereal nose of black cherry, raspberry, crushed rock, mineral, iron, olive, lavender & violets. I would decant as it threw off a lot of sediment. — 7 days ago

Erik Longabardi

9.2

First vintage. So promising and full of life well after bottling. Very impressive but with heft and weight. Still can evolve at with slight levels of macro VA. V good — 2 days ago