Tardieu Laurent Cornas VV 2003

From yields of 15 hectoliters per hectare, the 2003 Cornas Vieilles Vignes is one of the greatest offerings from this appellation I have ever tasted. Approaching 14% alcohol (amazing!), it was fashioned from two of Cornasrsquo;s greatest old vine hillside vineyards, Chaillot and Geynale. A big, smoky, inky nose of graphite, scorched earth, blackberry liqueur, and roasted meats is followed by a wine with layers of fruit, monstrous body, massive intensity, and a multilayered style. It should age effortlessly for two decades. Unfortunately, the production is a minuscule 200 cases.

Medium-ruby. Sauvage, roasted aromas of cassis, violet, minerals and licorice; really quite bright and expressive today. Thick but sappy in the mouth, already showing a panoply of flavors: smoked meat, bacon fat, leather, violet, brown spices. Very long and aromatic on the aftertaste. This is measurably low in acidity, according to Tardieu, yet comes across as vibrant and light on its feet.

The affable Michel Tardieu, working with the brilliant Rhone Valley oenologist Philippe Cambie, continues to expand his portfolio, now moving into Languedoc, Roussillon, and to some of the far reaches of the southern Rhone. Notes of roasted herbs, olives, black currants, and tapenade jump from the glass of the dark ruby/purple-colored 2003 Cote Rotie. The wine is exotic, rich, soft, fleshy, and full. Drink it over the next 10ndash;15 years.

Deep ruby-red. Compelling Cote-Rotie perfume of violet, black pepper, gunflint, roasted meat, licorice and exotic woodsmoke. Lush, round and exotic, with plenty of structure under its fat. Very long, building finish shows an almost salty impression of extract and an exhilarating oriental spice component. But the 2001, from a much smaller crop, is even thicker and more explosive.

The 2003 Cornas Vieilles Vignes is an amazing wine that tips the scales at 13% alcohol. Black as midnight oil, the wine offers a gorgeous nose of blackberries, blueberries, creosote, and camphor. It is full-bodied, with fabulous texture, a huge, inky, thick mouthfeel, and a long finish. This is monumental Cornas that should evolve for 20+ years.

A Syrah wine from Rhone in France. 2003 Tardieu-Laurent Cornas Vieilles Vignes 750ml

The Cornas cuvees are the most concentrated, interesting offerings I tasted from Michel Tardieursquo;s 2001 northern Rhone portfolio. The 2001 Cornas Vieilles Vignes is aged primarily in new oak. It has soaked up all the toasty vanillin characteristics, revealing just a hint of new wood along with a wealth of blackberry liqueur, cassis, mineral, licorice, and espresso notes. Full-bodied and opulently-textured, with high tannin as well as extract, this is a 2001 to forget for 4ndash;5 years. Anticipated maturity: 2007ndash;2018.