This is even better than the [link2post id=”912″]1999 I popped recently[/link2post], and that was a screamingly good bottle of wine. Papa Verset is greatly missed.
Cornas 1998, Noel Verset
A heady, rich nose of dark fruit and leather. There is a hint of stemminess to this, but it fits perfectly with the ripe fruit and earthy complexity. This is hilariously classy, oozing with style from every pore. Serious complexity on the nose which is utterly delightful. The palate is as pleasing as a Paul Smith suit: highly refined. The Cornas tannins are present but ripe and attractive. The ripe fruit is lovely, as is the earthiness. It is very long and the complexity of the finish charms the tits off me. This is a truly top banana bottle of Cornas, which was an incredible bargain from Byrne’s. Fine wine does not come any cheaper.
Hello! I shared a bottle of the great man’s 96 when last I was in Burgundy. My intital impression was that it had drifted off in too mnay directions, but after an hour or so it really blossomed. A joy to be drinking something that tastes of somewhere.
I had a bottle of this very wine on what I suspect was the same night, Saturday 27th, and my impressions very much match yours. It’s a charming, chunky wine, more wool than silk, but a well behaved bottle and a great, distinctive expression of syrah.