Balthazar Cornas Cuvée Casimir is Franck Balthazar’s cheap stuff. It is made from the young vines planted amongst the incredibly old vines in his stellar plot of the great Chaillots lieu-dit, plus a few other parcels sprinkled around Cornas. It is generally given cursory attention compared to the Chaillot Cuvée and the pointless Sans Souffre bottling.
Why do I have a bottle of such a minor wine as Balthazar Cornas Cuvée Casimir? Especially from a vintage that is not the greatest of the teenies – 2016. Truth is, I purchased it simply because I had some spare money soon after The Editor and I moved into Elitistreview Court and I thought it would be an acceptable use of circa-£20 for random house-warming drinking.
So I put it in the wine fridge and promptly forgot about it for five years until this evening when The Editor asked what we could have with some of his brilliant slow-cooked beef brisket. I spotted this, thought it might still be hanging on, and decided we had better drink up!
How far over the edge has it gone? To the corkscrew!
Cornas Cuvée Casimir 2016, Franck Balthazar
I have popped and poured this just before dinner is served, it could well be on its last legs, and air is the final nail in the coffin of such wines. Hmmm… it is distinctly bricked when I pour it. A sniff…
Delicious! Distinctly floral with grilled beef fat, rosemary, and warm, spicy, mulled wine fruit aromas. This is reasonably complex and highly compelling. The floral and herbal aromas remind me of Gilles Cornas from the same vineyard; this seems more mature than his 2016, however.
Indeed, when one goes looking for more aromas on the Cornas Cuvée Casimir 2016 there is a suggestion of cold tea. This suggests that the wine is beginning to be on its way out. No need to worry yet, though, there is plenty of life here.
The palate of Cornas Cuvée Casimir 2016 is certainly lively, with a present, but not tough, tannic structure charged with plenty of energy. First impressions are of a vivacious palate.
There is more of that mulled wine spicy fruit and a pronounced rosemary/herbal character that is very pleasing. It seems well balanced and of perfectly pleasurable complexity.
A further swill and swirl show that the tannins of Cornas Cuvée Casimir 2016 are drying a little on the finish, a further sign that this has gone past its peak. That being said, the fruity, spicy, herbal-melange is amply joyful.
Perhaps the best thing about both the nose and palate of Balthazar Cuvée Casimir 2016 is that, even though this has gone past its peak, it is deliciously clean with nary a hint of Brett to be found. Hooray for that! The seasoned Rhône-lover needs some tolerance for Brett, perhaps more of a tolerance than I have, but this would delight anyone who likes their juice unsullied.
As we reach the end of a very enjoyably mid-week bottle, the fruit is dying a little and the dryness on the finish seems more pronounced. I would be drinking up your 2016s of Balthazar Cuvée Casimir sooner rather than later.
I would guess that if you have some 2015 or 2017 Cornas Cuvée Casimir, they would be at a towering peak of their pleasure-dealing powers and should be a real joy. You can start on them with much relish, I would wager.
Does Cornas Cuvée Casimir tell us anything about the Grand Vin Balthazar Cornas Chaillot? That is made from 100+ year old vines, so will have more density and depth of flavour. It should pulse more intensely with the character of the vineyard as well. You should think yourselves very lucky if you have some of this wine. Keep it, even from 2016.
As for the Balthazar Cornas Cuvée Casimir 2016, I was very surprised by how good it was. Gilles Chaillot 2016 might have more life and be better but, if you can find this, I bet it would be considerably less expensive, and you can launch straight into it with no regrets. It is pretty good stuff – we enjoyed it!
LAST MINUTE EDIT: Just before I published this, I decided to look up the prices of Gilles Cornas 2016 (it is essentially unavailable) and Cornas Cuvée Casimir 2016. The latter is £62 in bond at its least expensive. This is far too expensive, spurn it! Cast it asunder!
