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Gillaume Gilles

 
For that seductive combination of wild earthiness and pure-fruited drinkability so unique to Syrah, there's no place on earth like Cornas. It's the southernmost appellation in the Northern Rhône Valley and here Syrah reaches what might be its most archetypal expression. Wild animal savoriness underpins huge black and purple fruit, full body matches bright granitic acidity, and the wines combine structure for decades of cellaring with drink-me-now deliciousness. And in Cornas, no winemaker is hotter than Guillaume Gilles.  

Today, we're pleased to offer a small amount of Guillaume Gilles' extraordinary wines.
 
Cornas is also a place where legends loom large. The winemakers who originally made Cornas what it is, people like Noel Verset and Marcel Juge, have largely retired or passed away. Guillaume was lucky to work for years alongside one of these legends, Robert Michel. And that was after he'd worked under Hermitage legend Jean-Louis Chave! When Michel decided to retire in 2006, he passed down his holdings to his young protegé. As a result, Guillaume leases some of the best and oldest parcels of Syrah in Chaillot, one of Cornas' two top vineyards. He even inherited Michel's cellar and continues Michel's world-class winemaking. 

This is Cornas made the way the legends do it. All vines are farmed organically and by hand, and all fruit is left in whole clusters and fermented with wild/ambient yeasts before being aged in large neutral oak barrels. Despite the ever-rising pressure to produce riper, smoother, oakier and younger-drinking wines, Gilles has persevered as one of the last “purist” producers in Cornas. 

His Cornas is an obvious standout, and the top wine of the domaine.  It exhibits that classic combination of roasted meats, violets, blackberries, smoke, black pepper, and scorched earth with that famous granitic backbone. The vines for his Cornas come from the higher part of the Chaillot slope.  A 30 day maceration leads to a complex, concentrated, structured wine.

His "Les Peyrouses" rouge, labeled as a Cotes du Rhone, is anything but, and should not even be thought of as such. From a vineyard just a stone's throw from the Cornas perimeter, it's made from vines that are almost 150 years old.  It's a stunning wine and should be spoken of in the same breath as his Cornas.

Hi Cornas Les Rieux is planted to vines 450 meters above the main amphitheater of Cornas. Always too "cold" to be a recognized cru, today’s warmer climate allows the fruit here to reach maturity and is now recognized as one of his most sought after cuvees. The purity of the fruit here is wonderful juxtaposition to the flagship Cornas.

We also have a smattering of two vintages his extremely small production Northren Rhone Gamay and Saint Peray.  

Guillaume only works about four hectares and only a tiny amount – fewer than 100 cases – made it into the States this year. Quantities are extremely limited.

Store pickup and shipping are available, as always. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to respond to this email.

Prices are some of the lowest in the U.S. No further discounts available.
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