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2011 Franck Balthazar Cornas ChaillotSyrah / Shiraz from France

$59.98

List Price: $74.99

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WINERY: "Franck Balthazar has been blessed with the laid-back demeanor necessary to crafting flawless cuvees, as well as with the opportunity to work a 97-year old parcel purc...

  • 94 Wine Spectator
  • 93 Josh Raynolds - Vinous Media
  • 91 Wine & Spirits
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About

Ratings:

94

"Dark and densely packed, with currant confiture, blackberry paste and warm fig notes coiled tightly, held in check by a frame of singed alder and olive flavors. The finish shows a chalky underpinning, revealing serious grip and density. Best from 2016 through 2026. 112 cases imported. -JM" (05/14)

93 Josh Raynolds - Vinous Media

"Dark purple. Heady aromas of blackberry liqueur, cola, potpourri, olive and smoky bacon, with a bright mineral quality adding lift. Deeply pitched dark fruit and violet pastille flavors stain the palate and become sweeter and spicier with air. Rich and nicely balanced, with excellent finishing clarity and smooth, even tannins adding grip." (04/14)

91 Wine & Spirits

"Franck Balthazar took over the family estate in 2002, bent on a traditional style of whole-cluster, spontaneous fermentations in cement and aging in big old demi-muids (600-liter casks). His 2011 Chaillot has the firmness of the appellation's granite soils, and a coolness that raises a prickle as it flows through the sweet, earthy red fruit. It feels real, an honest Cornas for drinking over the course of several hours as it reveals different aspects." (02/14)

Product Description:

WINERY:
"Franck Balthazar has been blessed with the laid-back demeanor necessary to crafting flawless cuvees, as well as with the opportunity to work a 97-year old parcel purchased from Noel Verset, retired Cornas icon. The domaine was founded in 1931 by Franck's grandfather, Casmir Balthazar, buying some vines and planting others, with its first bottling in 1980. Franck took over the 2 hectare family estate from his father Rene in 2002. Then the estate was made of one hectare of century old vines and one of forty-year old; he has since expanded to 3.5 hectares of Syrah, with new plantings in 2005 and 2008, from which he makes about 8,000 bottles each year in a small cellar behind a local church."

"By fermenting each parcel separately, Franck is able to better demonstrate the expressive value of his lands. His philosophy in the vineyard and in the cellar is purely traditional, reflective of the great Cornas producers who preceded him. In the vineyard and the cellar, he is a one-man show: he plows the vineyards with the aid of a horse, he ferments the grapes with the stems intact, with some pumping over and light pigeage, and ages the wine in demi-muid (600 liter barrels). He is a purist and a traditionalist, and has perfected his method of cultivation and vinification of the Syrah grape. His wines, we offer, as proof of its effectiveness: they are luxurious, expressive, and elegant, with an unmistakable sense of place." -Importer

Product Detail

Item # 80014
Country France
Region Rhone
Sub-Region Cornas
Ratings

94 - Wine Spectator

93 - Josh Raynolds - Vinous Media

91 - Wine & Spirits

Vintage 2011
Color Red
ABV 14.0%
Varietal(s) Syrah / Shiraz
Size 750mL
Closure Cork
Features
Taste currant, blueberry, blackberry and strawberry
Nose spice box, cedar and dark fruit