DOMAINE DU TUNNEL Cornas, Stephane Robert 2022 Bottle ORG

Description

Stéphane Robert is regarded as a rising star in Cornas amongst Rhône producers and wine critics alike. He started his domaine in 1996, when he was in his mid-twenties, and has added parcels over the years. He now holds 13 hectares of Syrah, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier vines split across Cornas, Saint-Péray, Saint-Joseph and more recently, Condrieu. He named his domaine after his quirky cellar, which lies in a 170m long converted railway tunnel which was once used by steam trains and is now home to this increasingly important Cornas domaine. As it spans two levels, much of the work can be accomplished by gravity, reflecting Stéphane’s winemaking ethos. Everything is done sensitively, with the aim of expressing the fine terroir of his vineyards. Grapes are hand harvested, he vinifies parcels separately and uses oak sparingly.

This Cornas comes from a selection of 100-year-old vines in some of Stéphane’s best parcels, Champelrose, Eygats, and Combe. It shows amazing presence of tannins and drive, and will benefit from a little time in bottle. Hugely elegant, mouth-coating, and intense.