Famille Perrin Vinsobres "Les Cornuds"

We really like the terroir of Vinsobres, a beautiful village located 40 kilometres north of Châteauneuf du Pape at an altitude of 300 metres, primarily on terraces. Vinsbores is particularly suitable for Syrah, giving it that great finesse we tend to loose further south.

Presentation

Presentation
We really like the terroir of Vinsobres, a beautiful village located near Vaison la Romaine; The vineyard is at an altitude of 300m and is situated for the most part on terraces. Vinsobres is particularly suitable for Syrah because it preserves the finesse which is often lost in more southern climates. It develops notes of violet, smoked meat and blackberries. Grenache is also suited to this terroir, full bodied and not heavy, with notes of black chocolate, cherry and typical Garrigue aromas.
The vintage
In 2010, all the right conditions were united to produce an exceptional vintage.
Heavy rainfall during spring, followed by a very hot summer and an Indian summer in September allowed for great harvest conditions.
This vintage produced very balanced wines with intense notes of fruit and great finesse.
Location
The most northern vineyard of the southern Rhône. The Perrin family owns around 60 hectares in one single plot in Vinsobres. The average altitude is 300 metres on hills and terraces.


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Terroir
Stony and sandy marl on the slopes, stony quaternary alluviums on the terraces.
Ageing
The entire harvest is destemmed. Syrah is vinified in wooden truncated tanks that are punched down and pumped over. The Grenache is vinified in stainless steel tanks. The Syrah is partly aged in one year old oak barrels. Blending takes place after malolactic fermentation.
Varietals
Grenache
Syrah

Advice

Serving
It is not necessary to decant this wine. Serve at 18C
Tasting
Colour: Dark with purple undertones
Nose: Intense notes of violet, black fruit and spices, black pepper and liquorice
Mouth: Round, full-bodied, huge finesse with elegant tannins, very fresh
Wine Tasting Video

Reviews

16/20
"Mid crimson. Quite complex and claret-like in structure. Racy and sinewy. Firm and dry on the end but far from heavy."
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89+/100
"The 2010 Côtes du Rhône-Villages Vinsobres Les Cornuds is dark ruby/purple, exhibiting loads of minerality, blue and black fruits, crisp acids and a cool climate, zesty, yet powerful mouthfeel.

As I said last year, the Perrin family is a large one indeed, with brothers Jean-Pierre and Francois sitting at the top of the hierarchy and their four sons, Mathieu, Pierre, Thomas and Marc increasingly taking charge of their negociant business and their extensive estates throughout Southern Rhone. Now controlling over 1200 acres, as well as having a network of contracts, this operation is the equivalent of a major Southern Rhone train operating at high speed. Moreover, they are doing some incredible work in all price ranges. Other 2011s that the Perrin boys have produced include the following wines, which were very good across the board, especially for 2011s. In particular, readers need to take a hard look at their estate in Vinsobres, which is making the finest wines of that appellation, and more recently, what they are doing in Gigondas with the estate they purchased there, Clos des Tourelles. These are special wines. There are now three cuvees of Gigondas from the Perrins - the Gigondas La Gille, the Gigondas Vieilles Vignes and the Gigondas Clos des Tourelles. All three merit serious attention. Tasting the 2010s, which were all set to go into bottle right after my visit, certainly shows that this vintage is impressive, although I'm not sure that Marc and Pierre Perrin haven't done as good a job with their selections in 2011. Three cuvees of Gigondas look to all have outstanding potential and will probably be in bottle by the time this report is published.
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89-91/100
"Glass-staining ruby. Aromas of dark berries, licorice and smoky spices, with a floral nuance gaining strength with air. Juicy, focused and nicely concentrated, offering hefty cassis and bitter cherry flavors brightened by a cracked pepper quality. A smoky note comes up on the long, spice-dominated finish. This pungent wine is really showing its syrah right now."
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17/20
"Savoureux vin rouge de la vallée du Rhône, classé en Côtes-du-Rhône Villages jusqu'en 2006, ce vin, fait à parts égales de Grenache et de Syrah, séduit dès le départ par la franchise de son bouquet de petits fruits rouges, qu'accompagne une note genre... sucre d'orge, laquelle disparaît en agitant le vin dans le verre. Charnu, relativement corsé, ses tannins ont de la fermeté sans être rudes, et il a de l'éclat. Élevage en cuves et en fûts pour une partie du vin de Syrah. Très bon."
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"Getting down to business quickly, we started with the 2010 Vinsobres Les Cornuds (50/50 Grenache and Syrah), which shows bright violet and red currant aromas and a lovely piercing feel to the racy white pepper, cherry pit and iron notes. It has length and cut, with a very pure feel, a style that would prove to be very consistent through all the '10 reds here."
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91/100
"Dense and layered, but very refined, with a violet note stitching the crushed black cherry, steeped blackberry and anise flavors together, while an iron note adds range to the finish."
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