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Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes 2018 - First Bottle

Reviews

98 Jeb Dunnuck - Read

While not submitted to my tasting (and it wasn't presented from barrel last year), it would be hard to imagine there won't be a Les Vieilles Fontaines cuvée. Don't miss a chance to buy a bottle if you find one. Moving to the 2018 Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes, this beauty is cut from the same cloth as the Les Chailles yet is deeper and richer, with another level of concentration. Black and blue fruits, ground pepper, violets, smoked game, and loads of spring flower notes define the bouquet, and it has a vibrant, almost old school vibe that carries plenty of power yet still stays light and elegant on the palate. This beautiful, singular wine is open and enjoyable today, yet I wouldn't be surprised to see it close down with a year or two of bottle age. It should see its 20th birthday in fine form.

95 Vinous - Read

Opaque ruby. An exotically perfumed bouquet displays powerful aromas of black and blue fruit preserves, incense, peony and olive paste. Palate-staining blackberry, boysenberry, fruitcake and floral pastille flavors deepen steadily on the back half. Gains weight and sweetness with air, finishing with a jolt of smoky minerality, sneaky tannins and outstanding persistence.

95 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - Read

The 2018 Cornas Vieilles Vignes blends fruit from some of the top lieux-dits of the appellation: Combe, Patou, La Côte, Les Mazards and Chaillot. Aged 20 months in approximately 15% new oak, it's a dark, inky-hued wine, but one that retains bright, fresh fruit notes of red raspberries and plums alongside hints of cedar and menthol. It's full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with a firm, granitic structure and sense of restraint, fine-grained, almost silky tannins and tremendous length.

95 Decanter - Read

Thyme and pine needles behind the blackberry and raspberry fruit. Has some depth and weight on the mid-palate, along with a dense lattice of ripe tannin. Acidity is well balanced, there's a good sense of freshness and drive through the palate. Longer and deeper than most 2018 Cornas. Great saline beam through the wine holding up the very ripe fruit. Seductively drinkable now, but will age longer than most.

94 Wine Spectator - Read

Dark and winey, with lots of steeped black cherry, plum and blackberry fruit forming the core while light sweet tapenade, rosemary and mineral notes streak through on the finish. Vivid, energetic Cornas. Best from 2022 through 2036. 1,350 cases made, 128 cases imported.

Technical Details

BlendSyrah
WinemakerAlain Voge
CountryFrance
RegionRhone Valley
AppellationCornas
Farming MethodBiodynamic
Aging/Cooperage20 months in 15% new oak
Alcohol14.5%

Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes 2018

Rhone Blends | France

JD98, WA95, D95, VN95, WS94

New $100.00 $69.95 | 750mL

SOLD OUT

30% off retail!

Too late, we are SOLD OUT!

Is there a producer that gets Northern Rhone lovers into a frenzy more than Voge? What about throwing in $30 off normal retail?! Our tiny allocation of this highly sought-after bottling is here, so you’re going to need to be extra-quick to snag some!

Alain and Elaine Voge have been humbly making world-class Cornas from 70 organic and biodynamically-farmed parcels since the 1950s. “Discovered” by the critics, the wines are now increasingly difficult to find and represent “epiphany-level” greatness in Cornas. Incredible concentration, complexity and length, this nearly impossible to resist (even at 8:30 AM as I write this)! It's modern leaning, but not oaky (just 15% new oak), and has the structure and minerality to age for decades, despite its early appeal. Check out a few of the reviews below, but note that this will not last long!

Pricing today is beyond excellent. We have barely enough to send out this email. First come, first served…!

PAIRING IDEAS: Definitely start with some hard cheese for the ultimate complement. Something like Souréliette du Fédou, a sheep's milk cheese, is perfect, or ask your local cheesemonger!

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: We're listening to Milky Chance's new album "Trip Tape"! Check it out, it's pretty good!

About the Producer

Alain Voge and his wife Elaine have been estate-bottling Cornas since the 1950s. With over 70 parcels totaling seventeen acres that are farmed organically and biodynamically, Alain Voge is one of the hottest producers in the region. Despite Parker, Spectator and Dunnuck calling them some of the finest wines made in the world, the Voges remain humble and the kind of people you wish could be your grandparents. Alberic Mazoyer is the consulting winemaker and has further refined these incredible expressions of the granitic terroir.