Haven’t been drinking much wine lately, just hasn’t really tickled my fancy (aside from Championship Bottle and Kobayashi, shoutout to Saul and Travis) but popped a bottle of Cuchet Beliando Cornas today and wow… that did the trick. I know Cornas is about as unique as it gets but is there anything domestic that comes close? I was thinking maybe either Reynvaan, Piedrasassi or Horsepower based on memory of trying them years ago. Am I on the right track or are there better options? Gimme that bacon fat and meat!
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No. But I’ve never tasted a Piedrasassi wine (I’ve tasted the others). I like Cornas. A lot.
If I were looking for US Syrah that is made in a similar style to benchmark Cornas, maybe Halcon, or Lagier Meredith and Steve Edmunds Syrahs if you can find them still in the marketplace. Also Arnot Roberts.
The wines you mention are not at all like Cornas to my palate. They display a different sort of funk, which I do not enjoy. Same with Cayuse. Especially Cayuse, which are dirty wines. The WA wine fans will certainly disagree.
I cellar Clape, Allemand, Juge, and Mickael Bourg’s Cornas at the lower price end of things.
Why limit yourself to US wines, rather than Cornas, which you want to replicate? The better Cornas are exponentially better than the new world imitations. In my opinion, of course.
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Honest answer? I’m in hardware operations and am part of a team bringing manufacturing back to the US, which, corny or not, has given me the domestic itch
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Tough one. I’d second Steve Edmunds Syrahs or cool vintage older Sonoma coast Syrah. Nothing really like Cornas in the US though, plenty of other good stuff.
Piedrasassi Rim Rock
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The older Bedrock Plaines de Chene Hudson’s have that same smoked meat violet character.
Older White Hawk Vineyard from Ojai and others have some of that as well.
Piedrasassi Rim Rock is excellent, probably the best Syrah i’ve ever tasted and the price point is extremely fair.
Extradimensional Wine Co Yeah! 2023 Syrah Brousseau vineyard - I have not tasted it but I know people have god things to say. I just recently discovered Hardy’s wines and I’ve been blown away by everything I’ve tasted. I have 2 of the Syrah’s on the way. (theres a couple bottles still available on sale at flatiron right now…)
Both of these are gonna be in the 12% alcohol range!
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No bananas, chocolate, coffee, baking spices, and vanilla for you! 
Jake, I think older PAX Majik Vineyard is exactly what you are looking for. Here is a thread with some awesome information from @Pax_Mahle and also @H_Wallace_Jr
Rim Rock is straight up guanciale. Super peppery, fatty cure meat and mediterranean herb. I think that’s the closest to Cornas imo but only in the first day, more time slowoxxing it turns to Northern Rhône-ish. Haven’t had any young domestic Syrah that gave me a hard time to find the fruit like Piedrasassi Rim Rock at pop and pour.
I love Hardy’s wines. He is the only domestic producer in my top 10. I don’t think I’d ever mistake one of his wines as Cornas.
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I wish you nothing but luck, and please report back if you have success, but I agree you’re going to have a tough time. You’re not just looking to duplicate Cornas, you’re looking to duplicate one of the most classic old-school Cornas producers of them all. I love and cellar many of the US wines mentioned above (Halcon, Lagier-Meredith, ESJ), but as noted no one is ever going to guess Cuchet-Beliando when trying any of them blind.
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I would add the Joy Fantastic SRH AVA syrah from Holus Bolus - others have talked about it on here but I think it’ll scratch that itch at a fairly reasonable price.
Cheers
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I need to mention Halcon again. Pax Mahle took over Halcon wineyard in 2020, which is in my opinion an under the radar vineyard which turns out awesome northern rhone like wines. . . We opened up our first bottle of the 21 estate and I have to admit, we immediately thought of cornas. Now it was young, tight, and tannic, but showed gamey, bacon fat savoriness, with some black fruit,
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K&L bought the entire 22 vintage of Halcon and they just listed it online for $70.
the 23 vintage of the estate is now available for 60
Honestly, you might want to look at some of the Willamette Valley options.
I first got excited about US Syrah with Steve Edmunds wines, and they are still some of my favorites. But tasting the 2004 and 2005 Cristom Estate Syrahs reminded me of Cornas (very sanguine and ferric with excellent cut and little overt sweetness). Those were cooler vintages, and other vintages are more like St. Joseph or good Crozes-Hermitage.
We made Syrah from the Deux Vert Vineyard from 2008-2016, and I very much enjoyed that they were more restrained in the fruit but very structural. And there are a number of producers still making very good Willamette Valley Syrah. Besides Cristom, I recommend looking at Twill, Brittan, and Jeff Vagr’s Golden Cluster.
Ours were always more like St. Joseph (in my opinion, but if you want to see what older WV Syrah/Viognier looks like just PM me and we’ll figure something out.
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Thanks for the kind words, Jake! I think w/r/t scratching that savory-Syrah itch, the best way to do it domestically is with age. I’d still aim for lower (sub 14%) abvs, generally, but I think that a lot of domestic (CA) Syrah just starts off with a good bit more fruit in its youth. When that fruit starts to melt away (at 10+ years), you get the sort of wines that are easy to mistake for old-world bottles. I’ve had great luck sourcing Wells-era Copain off of winebid, and older Qupe has often been exactly what you’re looking for. I think Piedrasassi would also be of interest for you, as well, and the post-ripeness Pax wines (ie, not too far back) often do what you’re after. I also second the Halcon recs. Oh, and I think Twill’s Syrahs from the Willamette Valley and Applegate in OR are going to be up your alley, as well.
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No.
I was floored this year by a 2014 terre rouge high slopes. Had the savory element that I’ve only found in Rhône wines
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