TN: 2008 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas)

2008 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (2/22/2015)
Fireworks on the nose, just incredible zing, spice, pepper; palate is a little calmer, but shows plenty of dark, bright fruit, with pomegranate, pepper, great acidity, some grilled meats, crushed green peppercorn, present but fine and smooth tannins, just sensational for a young Cornas. The beauty of off vintages strikes again - this is so much better than its 2009 version [edited to add: right now]. (93 pts.)

Alan, I’m just now starting to explore No Rhones. I had the 09 version last week and enjoyed it, although it was very wound up and needing aging I’m sure. The aromatics were wonderful though. You say the 08 is a much better wine. Can you share more? I’m curious as to how you compare the two wines in more detail. Thanks in advance!

John,
I think I may have been over-exuberant in my comparison to 2009, which is a fabulous wine as well (now that I’ve done my proper homework and gone back to look at my notes for the 2009). I haven’t tried that wine since late 2012, when it showed an equally gorgeous nose, then tremendous intensity, deep, dark fruit, and great overall balance.

I guess what I meant to say is that weaker “off” vintages like 2008 often produce fabulous wines which are just as interesting, but tend to drink well a little younger.

So, working from memory the 2009 is a bigger, deeper wine, while this 2008 is a bit more elegant, slightly lighter in body, but fabulously flavored and complex. Right now I’d rather drink the 2008. In a decade or more, the 2009 will certainly be the better wine.

Sorry for being a little too enthusiastic about this 2008, which is still in my glass as I finish the remains of last night’s bottle [cheers.gif]

No worries, thanks for the clarification. A local shop has the 08 Reynard. Sounds like I should go grab em.

If a decent price, absolutely! Pop one and try it now, I think you’ll be happy.

Great note Alan. Had my first Allemand this past week, an 07 Reynard and loved it. His wines should be on every NR fan’s bucket list. Amazing transparency and terroir expression.

So vintners should hope for bad weather, cool summer, wet autumn … and generally a lot of problems thoughout the year - to make really fine wine!
[scratch.gif]

I did not taste the 2008, but the 2009 - and there is absolutely nothing lacking in the latter - only the apropriate cellaring time.
On the other hand the 93 points seem to me rather over-enthusiastic … maybe solely because it´s closer to maturity ???
Or is ripeness of fruit a fault nowadays?

Me, too.

A fantastic wine. I agree with Alan’s assessment, comparison to 2009, and the score. Popped one last year.

No, I believe what Alan is saying is that really good wines are sometimes (and often times by guys like Allemand) made in mediocre vintages, and that, if people are wise, they will not ignore them as they may be better at various stages of their life than wines from the much-hyped vintages, as, to Alan’s palate, this 2008 is right now versus the 2009 version. And, he has actually tasted both.

Are any of these youngish Allemand single-vineyard Cornases anywhere close to peak drinking? I’ve only had the '06 Reynard back in 2011 and it was really tough.

Agree fully with your statement - but it didn´t originally sound like this. For me it was more like a “hot vintage bashing …” (I may be wrong, so in that case: sorry) … and that´s simply not true - better (hotter, more tannic etc.) vintages simply need more time, and patience is a rare bird nowadays [wow.gif]

For instance I had the 1994 clos de la Roche/Dujac recently twice, one 0.75 and one Mg … both outstanding and most enjoyable. Still: the 1990 is better
(and yes, the Mg was slightly better than the regular)

No, I don´t think so reg. 2008, but still more aproachable than a strong vintage like 2009 which is sweet and intense but tight.
Had the 1994 Reynaud in January which is kind of mature from the aromatics but still has a tannic edge.

That’s pretty much it. I often love wines from outstanding producers in “off” or difficult vintages. Sometimes even more than their wines in the so-called “great” vintages. In fact, 2009 produced a number of N. Rhone wines that, for my palate, or a little too ripe. I tend to prefer 2010, and even 2008 in some cases to the 2009 models.

I’ve been sucking down my meager stash of 2008 Allemand bottles over the past year or so, and ever time I marvel at what’s in those bottles (don’t worry, I’ll keep a few for the long haul, but they are so delicious now, it’s hard to do).

Gerhard, hopefully you read my second post in this thread, where I backed up a bit from my first, overly enthusiastic note, particularly in comparison to the 2009. I agree 2009 Allemand is great, and one that definitely needs much more time. And that actually plays into my reaction fo 2008 - which is drinking spectacularly (even if very young) right now. I’m a fan of both great aged wines, as well as young wines - if they are “drinkable” at a young age. This 2008 is most definitely drinkable. It is, in fact, absolutely delicious. Find one and try for yourself [cheers.gif]

And no, of course I would not wish cold, wet, difficult vintages on any vintner. I wish every vintage to be great for them, to produce outstanding wines with clean fruit and easy harvest. But the truth is that difficult vintages often produce less opulent, less “obvious” wines, that many critics overlook. And when that happens, I rejoice, because those wines are often terrific, more available, and priced more reasonably.

The last time I had the 2008 Allemand Chaillot, it was almost exactly 2 years to the date, and even when our wait-staff in the restaurant where we ordered this bottle at insisted on decanting the wine and not pouring until after 30 minutes when they served our entree, the wine remained very tight throughout the dinner and quite tough to evaluate.

It looks like it is more accessible now than then and it’s good to know that that it’s in a good path.

Alan,
agree with you that so called “small” vintages are often overlooked - and they are often excellent when from fine producers.
I have quite a few producers I buy each and every vintage for 20+ years - with good reason and great satisfaction. Nevertheless I still prefer the better vintages, but I tend to keep them for much longer (still have 1990+91 Allemand).

Interestingly: there is not a single bottle of 2008 Allemand cornas (no cuvee at all) on wine-searcher for Europe available!
I guess he had a very small quantity … and that might also be the cause why I don´t have one …
maybe most was shipped overseas … [cry.gif]

Based on the two bottles I’ve drunk in the past year, the 2008 Chaillots is drinking extremely well.

I also had a really nice experience with the 2007 Chaillots almost exactly a year ago. Based on that, I cracked a bottle of 2007 Levet Chavaroche and really enjoyed it.

Both of the 2007’s seemed, to my palate, to be advancing quickly and showing really nice development. The kind of flavors that usually appear only after more time.

So, if you’re wanting to drink an Allemand or Northern Rhone young, I’d recommend these wholeheartedly.

I was told in another thread that the less ripe wines will age better. If so, why aren’t you drinking your 2009s and saving your 2008s? Or was that guy just wrong?

I also tasted the 2008 Allemand Reynard a year ago and unlike the Chaillot, it was pretty much closed for business. Had a wonderful nose and started out okay, but it closed up on me as it sat in the glass. Can’t recommend it for early drinking.

I’m a scientist, but even I recognize there is a lot of black art in wine. How a particular wine in a particular vintage will age is definitely a black art, at least to me. I believe in some general principles, which we’re discussing in that other thread, but there are clearly boundaries at the high and low ends of ripeness (and, just for the record, I never said that riper wines won’t age, just that in my experience they rarely turn into something as interesting as their less ripe counterparts - within limits).

Let me answer your point anecdotally: As everyone knows, 2002 was generally considered a poor vintage in N. Rhone. But there were some quite nice wines made, even so. Allemand was one of them (though, just like the unusually hot 2003 vintage, he made only a single cuvee, to my knowledge, and just called it Cornas, with no Chaillot or Reynard designation). I tried and bought that wine at release (because it sold relatively cheaply, I recall around $35), and it was quite delicious, though clearly less intense and deep than “normal”, with higher acidity. I drank those bottles over several years. A note from 2008 describes it as having a beautifully complex dark berry nose, with dark, concentrated fruit, fairly high acidity, but not overly tart. Quite delicious still. The next bottle, drunk in 2009, was not nearly as strong, showing somewhat lean, with the tart character coming through a lot more. Based on that, I drank my remaining 2 bottles within the next year, and both were essentially over the hill. Not enough depth of fruit to be interesting, overly acidity, and no real age or complexity showing either.

So I guess I would answer by saying “less ripe” is not an absolute, and wines can fall off a cliff in terms of ageability if they are too unripe, just as they can if they are too ripe.

Hopefully I’ve left myself enough wiggle room to escape any entrapment [wow.gif]