2020 Vincent Paris, Syrah, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes, Northern Rhone, France.
The basic 2020 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah from Vincent Paris is a bright and fresh wine that is round and earthy with a salty and stony core with vibrant blue fruits, spice and a soft easy texture, making it a wine to just enjoy young and with pretense. The 2020 is less elevated and serious as some of the other recent vintages, especially the string from 2016 to 2019 which were much closer to being a true baby Cornas or like his Crozes-Hermitage, but still very nice and a great value. This all tank raised Syrah comes exclusively from young organic Crozes Hermitage vines and set on alluvial soils with a lot of galets roulés scattered the vines, which absorb heat and that restore the soils in the evening. This electric ruby hued vintage, which gets more entertaining with air, opens up with boysenberry, fresh currant, juicy plum and tart cherry fruits, along with a mix of spices and wild herbs, all lifted by zesty acidity, mineral notes and subtle floral tones in a wine with a lighter frame, velvety tannins and a medium body.
Vincent Paris, as I have noted in my prior reviews, is a native of Cornas and one of the new superstars in the region, joining legends and cult heroes like Clape, Allemand and one of my other favorites Domaine Lionnet to name a few. Vincent inherited most of his vines, which are mature and well cared for, including a fabulous plot well over 100 years old, from his grandfather and he also rents vines from his famous uncle and Cornas vigneron Robert Michel. These ideal biodynamically farmed vines, which are set in various parcels along the southeast facing Cornas slope, these include the steep set that make backbone of two of Paris’ most famous bottlings, his Granit 30 and Granit 60, they take their names from the slope and grade in these vineyards and average vine age, respectively. His famed Geynale single Cornas parcel wine, La Geynale, is comprised exclusively of old vines in Genale that were planted in 1910, making for a wine that is highly prized and almost impossible to get. I highly recommend checking out these terroir driven and soulful Paris wines, in particular his Granit 30 Cornas, which is one of the great values in the collection, and this highly quaffable Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah, which was 100% de-stemmed and aged in vat for nine months, there’s a lot to admire here.
($18 Est.) 87 Points, grapelive