Dumien-Serrette Cornas Henri 2019

Cornas is pure Syrah like the rest of the Northern Rhône, but the feel is of something farther South. Today fifth generation winemaker Nicolas Serrette heads up the Domaine Dumien-Serrette, farming a miniscule 1.8 hectares of pure, old-vine Syrah.

Nicolas makes only a barrel or two of his “Henri” cuvée, made from 100 year old vines and named for his grandfather “Henri” in honor of what would have been his 100th birthday in 2013. Showing extraordinary depth and concentration, this shows everything the Patou cuvée has, but dialed up to eleven. There’s noticeably more oak, and so will need time to settle into itself — we expect great things in 5-15 years.