Noel Verset Cornas

[MikeL238]

Mike,

Maybe some good questions for us to ask of you at this point are these:

At current pricing, what are your hopes, and more importantly - your expectations -, if you were to buy a bottle to try?

On what order of magnitude would a purchase be beyond your normal spend? your “splurge” spend? your all-time high spend?

Is No. Rhone and/or Cornas your favorite region/appellation?

If you don’t buy a bottle of Verset, what will you buy instead?

Good questions Brian. To answer them, Northern Rhone is my favorite and I especially love the rusticity and feral/wild notes from the region (i.e. Levet). Hence, my expectations from Verset would be that it shows those characteristics and more or a new spectrum within. As for pricing, yes this would be one of the all-time high spend and I’m not debating between Verset and something else. Just very curious about Verset so it’s not a case of I could buy multiple bottles of something else rather than Verset. And lastly, I understand that there is always a risk of having a bad bottle and that’s something I’ll have to consider when ultimately deciding to pull the trigger or not.

[Al_Osterheld]

I used to taste and buy Gentaz at the same wine shop back in the day. Unfortunately, haven’t had any bottles in many years.

-Al

[ybarselah]

I used to buy Noel Verset when he was making wine, more feral style compared to most of the current producers. Loved the wines but, at this point, you’re buying the rarity as much as the wine (as with other gone labels like Trollat, Truchot, etc.). I last had the 1999 about 10 years ago, just a touch of brett but bloody magnificent.

-Al

I’ve only had three bottles, but the feral note is what hits and sells me. Same reason I love Levet. Well, I shouldn’t say “sells me” as I have not bought at these current prices. I’m much happier backfilling on Allemand at 1/2 the price, granted these are more current vintages, like 2013.

Absolutely love Levet as well. Robert, I presume Verset bottles you had weren’t as feral/wild as Levet?

very few wines are as feral as levet!

[Brady_Daniels]

A few years ago, a UK Wine Pages friend served the 1998 Verset Cornas alongside the 1990 Chave Hermitage. The Chave was excellent, and a top-10 Syrah of my life, a proper A-tier wine. The Verset blew the Chave away, a true S-tier wine, unique, feral, and thrilling. By far the best Syrah I’ve ever had, and tied for my favorite wine ever. (How does one favor one S-tier wine over another?)

I would spend a lot to reproduce that experience, but secondary markets and auctions make me nervous, so barring lucky generosity, it was my last.

One piece of advice my friend gave. Search out the L1 lots (first bottling), and pass on the more variable L2.

[MikeL238]

I’ve only had three bottles, but the feral note is what hits and sells me. Same reason I love Levet. Well, I shouldn’t say “sells me” as I have not bought at these current prices. I’m much happier backfilling on Allemand at 1/2 the price, granted these are more current vintages, like 2013.

Absolutely love Levet as well. Robert, I presume Verset bottles you had weren’t as feral/wild as Levet?

very few wines are as feral as levet!

Certainly. Hard to find anything that’s as feral and wild as Levet. It’s sort of love and hate so I understand why a lot of producers refuse to go crazy.

[MikeL238]

A few years ago, a UK Wine Pages friend served the 1998 Verset Cornas alongside the 1990 Chave Hermitage. The Chave was excellent, and a top-10 Syrah of my life, a proper A-tier wine. The Verset blew the Chave away, a true S-tier wine, unique, feral, and thrilling. By far the best Syrah I’ve ever had, and tied for my favorite wine ever. (How does one favor one S-tier wine over another?)

I would spend a lot to reproduce that experience, but secondary markets and auctions make me nervous, so barring lucky generosity, it was my last.

One piece of advice my friend gave. Search out the L1 lots (first bottling), and pass on the more variable L2.

Thanks Brady. Is there a way to tell whether it’s a L1 or L2?

[Larry_Stein]

Many, many years ago (15? more?), I attended a Verset vertical. Even the off vintage years (1984 and 87) were very good. 1985 and 88 stood out. The fellow who put on the tasting had one more bottle each of those and sold them to me for $60 each. They’re long gone. Would I pay that much now? Hell no. Great wines for sure, but as others have said, you’re paying for history. That same person also threw a Gentaz vertical. Unfortunately, those were all single bottles so I wasn’t able to purchase any.

I have had two other Cornas that reached the heights of Verset, but they’re definitely unicorns. 1983 and 88 Clape. Specifically, the Kermit Lynch imports. For those two vintages only, the wine was 100% Reynard. Hard to say if the '83 is still in decent shape. Given the vintage, a well-stored bottle of '88 should be fine. If you can even find a bottle.

[Mark_Anisman]

When supply stops, you start paying for history. If you are not making a ton of money i guess it rarely makes sense. I have not tasted Noel’s wines, but i have tasted Gentaz Dervieux. Was it good? Yes. Is it worth the money at current prices? Far from it.

if allowed to choose my 3 best red wines ever, 1988 Gentaz consumed ~8-10 years ago would be in position 1 and 2. !991 Rousseau Chambertin and 1990 la Tâche would tie for 3rd. not sure it has held up as it was my last bottle

"Certainly today, Gentaz wines are well past their prime, as he retired in the 80s, as I recall. "

1991 Gentaz was shared with friends in 2021. still stunning wine but perhaps has lost a step or two

[Yao_C]

I understand that there is always a risk of having a bad bottle and that’s something I’ll have to consider when ultimately deciding to pull the trigger or not.

Organize an offline where everyone brings one and spread the risk! I’m happy to show up with a bottle

[Keith_Levenberg]

I would say Verset and Levet probably ding the same zone on the feral-o-meter but Verset is the deeper and more powerful of the two so there’s more stuff to overpower the funk, except in those bottles where the brett takes over and the funk overpowers everything.

[LasseK1]

When supply stops, you start paying for history. If you are not making a ton of money i guess it rarely makes sense. I have not tasted Noel’s wines, but i have tasted Gentaz Dervieux. Was it good? Yes. Is it worth the money at current prices? Far from it.

if allowed to choose my 3 best red wines ever, 1988 Gentaz consumed ~8-10 years ago would be in position 1 and 2. !991 Rousseau Chambertin and 1990 la Tâche would tie for 3rd. not sure it has held up as it was my last bottle

"Certainly today, Gentaz wines are well past their prime, as he retired in the 80s, as I recall. "

1991 Gentaz was shared with friends in 2021. still stunning wine but perhaps has lost a step or two

When i had the 88 back in 2019 it was good. But Jamet was better for me on the same night (95 and 97, with the 97 being in an absolute perfect spot).

But my experience with aged N. Rhone is sadly limited. So could just be the bottle or the evening. Who knows.

[John_Morris]

FYI, Gail Skoff, Kermit Lynch’s wife, took some wonderful photos of Verset over the years.

[Mark_Anisman]

When supply stops, you start paying for history. If you are not making a ton of money i guess it rarely makes sense. I have not tasted Noel’s wines, but i have tasted Gentaz Dervieux. Was it good? Yes. Is it worth the money at current prices? Far from it.

if allowed to choose my 3 best red wines ever, 1988 Gentaz consumed ~8-10 years ago would be in position 1 and 2. !991 Rousseau Chambertin and 1990 la Tâche would tie for 3rd. not sure it has held up as it was my last bottle

"Certainly today, Gentaz wines are well past their prime, as he retired in the 80s, as I recall. "

1991 Gentaz was shared with friends in 2021. still stunning wine but perhaps has lost a step or two

When i had the 88 back in 2019 it was good. But Jamet was better for me on the same night (95 and 97, with the 97 being in an absolute perfect spot).

But my experience with aged N. Rhone is sadly limited. So could just be the bottle or the evening. Who knows.

understood. Jamet can be spectacular as well! and best ever also includes the moment and we were all having a great time…
i was fortunate to have bought on release so storage was dang good.

back to the issue at hand :
would not buy Verset or Gentaz at today’s prices. too much good wine out there for fractions of their cost.
and Verset and Allemande are so different. Verset is the cat’s meow for me, but would certainly understand anyone plumping for Allemande.

[Mike_S]

I am 83 years old. The 91 Verset is in my top ten wines of a long tasting life. I had one three years ago and it was still a religious experience. I have one left.

[RyanC]

Here’s the thing with pricing: $750-1,000 is hard to stomach because these used to be so reasonable. But if I think of the universe of wines that can be purchased for $750, I’d rather have good-vintage 80s/early 90s Verset than a ton of the Burg etc. that goes for close to four figures these days. At least the Verset is rare, singular, and at the absolute top of its appellation. Setting the variability factor aside, and the fact that $750+ is just an obnoxious amount of money to pay for wine, one could do an awful lot worse. And even in the Rhone, I think there’s a lot more value in, say, 91 Verset for $750-1,000 than there is for '08 Rayas for close to $2,000 these days (and I say that as a lover of 08 Rayas).

[Ramon_C]

I am 83 years old. The 91 Verset is in my top ten wines of a long tasting life. I had one three years ago and it was still a religious experience. I have one left.

Thanks for chiming in with your '91 Verset experience. I have 1 left, as well.

[Alan_Rath]

I’ve only had three bottles, but the feral note is what hits and sells me. Same reason I love Levet. Well, I shouldn’t say “sells me” as I have not bought at these current prices. I’m much happier backfilling on Allemand at 1/2 the price, granted these are more current vintages, like 2013.

Absolutely love Levet as well. Robert, I presume Verset bottles you had weren’t as feral/wild as Levet?

very few wines are as feral as levet!

I would not call Verset “feral”, at least not bottles at the age they are now. I’ve been fortunate to sample 88, 90 (2 or 3 times), 94, 98, and 99, in the past decade. Good bottles of Verset should, at this point, be elegant, medium to lighter body depending on vintage, and have a kind of ethereal fall spice note that characterizes the experience most, for me. Those are the qualities that I’ve found across bottles and vintages in mature examples.

Here’s my note to myself on the 98:
med body gd color though fair amount bricking amazing nose earthy fall gingerbread spice gorgeous elegant dark earthy cherry raspberry fabulous complexity and spice

If I was set in obtaining a bottle, I’d probably stay away from 99, which will have a vintage premium (and I personally think 99 is overrated in general). I’d look for 98, which should still be full vineyard sources, and is on the youngest end of the spectrum, and a very nice vintage in my experience.

[Keith_Levenberg]

Here’s the thing with pricing: $750 is hard to stomach because these used to be so reasonable. But if I think of the universe of wines that can be purchased for $750, I’d rather have good-vintage 80s/early 90s Verset than a ton of the Burg etc. that goes for close to four figures these days. At least the Verset is rare, singular, and at the absolute top of its appellation. Setting the variability factor aside, and the fact that $750+ is just an obnoxious amount of money to pay for wine, one could do an awful lot worse. And in the N. Rhone, I think there’s a lot more value in, say, 91 Verset for $750-1,000 than there is for '08 Rayas for close to $2,000 these days (and I say that even as I love 08 Rayas).

Agreed. Also, they’re likely to have been well-kept. Nobody bought Verset without knowing what they were doing. It’s not like that bottle of Latour someone got for Christmas then left in the closet for 30 years until their widow finds it and sends it back to the market.

[John_Morris]

Here’s the thing with pricing: $750 is hard to stomach because these used to be so reasonable. But if I think of the universe of wines that can be purchased for $750, I’d rather have good-vintage 80s/early 90s Verset than a ton of the Burg etc. that goes for close to four figures these days. At least the Verset is rare, singular, and at the absolute top of its appellation. Setting the variability factor aside, and the fact that $750+ is just an obnoxious amount of money to pay for wine, one could do an awful lot worse. And in the N. Rhone, I think there’s a lot more value in, say, 91 Verset for $750-1,000 than there is for '08 Rayas for close to $2,000 these days (and I say that even as I love 08 Rayas).

Agreed. Also, they’re likely to have been well-kept. Nobody bought Verset without knowing what they were doing. It’s not like that bottle of Latour someone got for Christmas then left in the closet for 30 years until their widow finds it and sends it back to the market.

I’m sure most people who bought Verset knew something about him, but it wasn’t a major purchasing decision 20 years ago. I paid $40 for my 1999 in 2003 and $42 for the 2000 in 2004. Earlier prices:
1987 - $14 in 1992
1994 - $26 in 1997
1996 - $32 in 1998

[Keith_Levenberg]

It’s not a matter of expense - $40 was around the max they were ever retailed for, maybe except for the last year or two. It’s just a matter of Cornas in general and Verset in particular being more of a niche product.