2016 Domaine du Tunnel - Cornas (92 pts) @aoccornas

2016 Domaine du Tunnel - Cornas (92 pts) @aoccornas @klwines · 🙋‍♂️ Favorite appellation for Syrah❓· 🗓0️⃣9️⃣ Wine Advent Calendar· This wine was the selected to show what Northern Rhone syrah could and should taste like· ℹ️ This wine is 💯Syrah from Cornas in the Northern Rhone. Cornas is the most southernly red wine appellation in the Northern Rhone and therefore the warmest. Unlike Hermitage and Cote Rotie the wines of Cornas must be 💯 Syrah. This wine is a blend of various parcels with an average age of 50 years old. Vinified with 30% whole cluster. Aged for 14 months in used oak barrels· 👁 Deep purple color· 👃 Medium intensity on the nose. Aromas of black plum, blackcurrant, stemmy, black pepper, smoke, licorice, violets, and roses· 👄 The wine is dry, medium+ acidity, medium+ fine dusty tannins, medium+ alcohol, and full body. A long brooding finish that shows dark fruit, black pepper, and smoke· 🔔 This is by far the best wine of the advent calendar to date. I have tried Domaine du Tunnel's Vin Noir and Pur Noir wines, which are older vine bottlings. Those I won't even consider touching for 5-6 years, but this wine opened up nicely with a brief stint in the decanter. It has an interesting juxtaposition of brooding dark fruit, smoke, and peppery spice against the elegant floral aromas of violets and roses. Let's call it happily androgynous 💑