Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 30 2021

Vincent Paris began his journey as a winemaker with just 1 hectare of vines in Cornas in 1997. He has slowly expanded to 10 hectares, still small enough that he can be very hands-on with all of his vineyards. The steep slopes of Cornas in the Northern Rhone are very hard to work with, with mechanisation pretty much impossible in many sites. Paris farms sustainably, never using insecticides or chemical fertilisers in his vineyards.

The name Granit 30 refers to the soil type - weathered and exposed granite - and the degree of the slope on the vineyard used for the wine - 30%. Using younger vines and a slightly lighter extraction, this wine shows all of the hallmarks of Cornas but without the requirement of 10+ years on the cellar that can often come with wines in this region. The hand-harvested fruit is entirely destemmed before fermentation with native yeasts in wooden vats and a year of aging in used oak barrels.

The complex and spicy nose shows off everything we love about Syrah from the northern Rhone - black pepper, olive and rosemary notes mingling with pure, ripe blackberry and raspberry fruit. On the palate it is deep and rich, with nice grip, earthy cigar tones and an iron-like mineral quality. While this cuvee is made to be approachable in youth, according to Paris it can still age up to 15 years if desired. The peppery and earthy quality of this wine makes it an outstanding pairing for roast game or lamb.