Domaine Courbis Cornas Champelrose 2021

Cellar for up to 15 years. Decant for up to an hour before serving. Plumes of blackberry, plum, black pepper, violet, and liquorice come from the nose of this 100% Syrah wine. It is a classic and distinguished Rhône Valley red, harvested from a 2.5-hectare plot of vines with an average age of approximately 100 years. The granite soils of the area impart a clean minerality to the palate. Domaine Courbis has a long history on the right bank of the Rhône, having been passed from father to son since the 16th century. The modern cellar was built about 20 years ago, into the side of one of the Rhône’s rolling hills. These days it is owned and operated by Laurent and Dominique, two brothers who oversee the domaine from the confluence of the Isère and Rhône rivers. Before bottling, the wine spent 16 months ageing in oak. The tannins are very fine and sumptuous, and the palate as a whole is broad and generous. Look for flavours of dark hedgerow berries, oak, tobacco smoke, eucalyptus, and pepper, with a mineral edge. The Cornas Champelrose is ideal for pairing with duck and turkey, roasted chestnuts, or hard pungent cheeses.

Price: £31.45 from 8wines UK