Finally, a good one

I’ve had a lot of mixed experiences with 1996 Rhônes, this one is rather nice.

Cornas Domaine de Rochepertuis 1996, Jean Lionnet

Lovely bright fruit nose. Clean, ripe plums, with some earth. The palate has good acidity, but not the harsh acidity that a lot of 1996 Rhônes have. It has plenty of plummy fruit, nice, ripe tannins and good length. For a random bottle opened at a friend’s place this seems rather lovely. Not super-fine, but a lovely, refined Cornas. As I have said before, I do like lovely.