Jean-Luc Colombo - Cornas Le Vallon de l'Aigle 2018

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

Laure Colombo, a brilliant young oenologist, joined the family business in Cornas, but decided to set up her own domaine on the heights of Saint-Péray to find her feet. This year, she is offering us a Saint-Péray and a Cornas from her domaine in Lorient. Joining doesn't mean taking over: Jean-Luc is still here, and so the range is built up as a family, between the vineyards of the Côte Bleue and those of the Rhône, and of course the sourcing activities, sometimes under the Colombo & Fille label, sometimes under Jean-Luc Colombo. Cornas are still the great wines here, and the modern, rational winery is built at the foot of the hill! In 2017, the delicious vallon-de-l'aigle will be rationed, with only two barrels produced!

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The 2018 Cornas Vallon de l'Aigle, which isn't bottled every vintage, seems worthy of the name. Produced from a single parcel of old vines with southern exposure, it harmoniously blends herbaceous nuances of mint and licorice with dark berries and grilled beef in a harmonious, flavorful bouquet. Full-bodied, yet fresh and silky, it's deceptively easy to enjoy. It finishes with a hint of cedar and crushed stone.

Wine Spectator

About the wine:

Quite rich, with layers of warm açaí and blueberry reduction, complemented by notes of black olive, tobacco and sweet bay. A hint of tar rumbles through the finish, giving this wine a very grippy allure. A little cellaring is required, but it's all there. Best between 2025 and 2038.

Wine Enthusiast

About the wine:

Notes of scorched earth, salt and iron mingle with punchy blackberries and plums in this opulent but very precise Syrah. The producer's flagship in Cornas, this bottling is made only in exceptional vintages from the free-run juice of low-yielding, 70-year-old vines. Brilliant and rich, yet light and airy, this wine is delicious in its youth, but still has decades of evolution ahead of it. Drink it until 2040.

Vinous A. Galloni

About the wine:

Opaque violet color. Intensely perfumed aromas of candied black fruits, smoky minerals and exotic spices display excellent definition and floral character. Flavors of blackberry, cherry-cola, spice cake, olive paste and floral pastille, very soft and persistent on the palate, deepen slowly with air and are enriched by a note of licorice on the second half of the tasting. Rich and energetic at the same time, it finishes very long and precise, with youthful tannic grip, firm cut and resonant florality.