Thierry Allemand, Cornas, Reynard

Strikingly good. On PNP this was all sour cherry on the palate and a kaleidoscope on the nose. Within 20 minutes, a 1/3 glass pour in a Zalto Universal glass was showing softer cherry notes with a medium body, nice lift and a vertical structure. After an hour in a Zalto white wine decanter, this was singing (there was a lot of sediment, which I did my best to filter but next time I'll try to stand this up for …

2006 vintage

1/6, excellent cork. Decanted and immediately served (significant sediment) at c15C. Deep ruby core, pale ruby rim. Aromatic, bright nose, violets, blackberry, black olive, touch of meatiness. Opens out as it warms slightly. Medium/full bodied, bright blackberry fruit, some richness on the mid-palate, black olive, touch of meatiness but quite bright and youthful with firm but fine underlying tannins, vibrant/crisp acidity which is actually even perhaps a touch strident on the very good length finish. Excellent wine though, with great …

2006 vintage

Ouvert, filtré, carafé une heure et remis en bouteille. Vin d'une grande élégance, très vertical, présentant un beau retour acide en finale qui invite à se resservir. Très pur. Superbe.

2006 vintage

Pure Cornas magic. Explosive nose of smoked meat, black pepper, olive tapenade, iron, violets, and dark savory fruit. Dense and structured but still silky, with depth and that wild earthy Northern Rhône finish that just keeps building. Totally lived up to the hype for me.

2006 vintage

Dark red color. Double decanted for an hour plus. Drank a glass over 2 hours. This was controversial with one of us thinking it was corked. It seemed a bit odd, but I went back and forth on what was going on. I never fully could convince myself it was corked. Somewhat more austere in terms of fruit, lacquer, high toned, wood on the nose. The palate is a little herbal, black cherry, wood spice, tangy, charcoal, with a bit …

2006 vintage

saturated purple, Savoury iron tang and beef with orange peel, and cherries... Intense flavors but overall very polished-no Cornas rusticity. Lengthy sweet, high-toned finish. Delicious. 93-95

2006 vintage

Christmas Wimps 2025 - Divine Brown (La Trompette) : Violets on the nose. So exquisitely balanced. Too exciting. This doesn't just tell a story, it's a whole cinematic universe. There's lovely acid here, lovely structure - but it's in no way screechy - someone said that it was almost not quite like Cornas and...i can kinda get it. It's certainly very well behaved Cornas. Wine of the lunch for me. Yum.

2006 vintage

Christmas Wimps 2025 - Divine Brown (La Trompette) : Garnet colour, slight bricking. There's lovely material depth to this - but on the finish - slightly baked? I called this as faulty but wheeled that back - there was always this lovely floral finish, but somehow this needed air to clean up. By the end there - just lovely - not quite at the same heights as the 2006, but doing just what is asked of it.

2000 vintage

Christmas WIMPS #196 19th December 2025 (La Trompette, Chiswick) : Some concern around the table initially that this might be over evolved and whilst it may not be the very best bottle, it pulled itself together with air and moved up a couple of point in my rating. The nose has classic Cornas iron filings on the nose with Hoisin, plum marzipan and mushroom ketchup on the nose. The entry has rosehip and smoky redcurrant which builds through the mid …

2000 vintage

Christmas WIMPS #196 19th December 2025 (La Trompette, Chiswick) : 1st of 6. Very classy stuff here; cassis, iodine, iris / Parma violets on the nose with some tapenade developing with air. Palate has peppery meats on entry with hints of raspberry. This intensifies through the mid palate. The finish has beautiful acids with some chestnut brazier smoky sweetness in the margins as well as some ripe plums. Outstanding.

2006 vintage

Outstanding. Great fruit, complexity and concentration. Drinking beautifully now. Not funky at all. Cornas does not get any better. An awesome wine.

2006 vintage

A small supper with out of this world wines (Noizé, London) : A little more savoury than the Chave Hermitage pair on the nose initially. Some rosehip, Rooibos tea and meatiness at the core. Black pepper. Hints of dark chocolate and capers in the margins. With air almond paste and blood orange as well. Palate has some meatiness, hints of joss stick ash and biltong. Some plum knedel on the fine boned finish. Classy and not a bit rustic. Joyous

2006 vintage

(Very) Good Bottles (Noize) : My bottle, decanted for about 90 minutes. Notably savoury nose, with all the trademark notes like blood, iron, earth, coffee, tobacco and even granary bread! Intense, piquant and again delightfully savoury on the palate, with a core of Bloody Mary and notes of espresso, pickled walnut and strawberry. Tannins were well-behaved but still attractively grippy. Ridiculously long. My and group's #2.

2006 vintage

This was much better than the last bottle, which was probably just off. Gorgeous nose with lots of fruit and savory notes, pepper, and floral notes. Nice acidity with great balance on the palate, more pepper notes, dark fruit, berries, and blood orange. Long finish. Wow, this was really good and tasted so young! Sound bottles should have decades to go!

2000 vintage

RZ's N Rhône with out of town guest (Noizé) : Served blind. Colour - similar purple garnet. More animale energy on the nose again - density and length but also a hint of funk - like listening to a deep bass note on a hifi. When revealed - this is a little bit of a funky bottle. Perhaps the wine gods chose to steal some of the magic of this wine and hand it over to the Graillot.

2006 vintage

Double blind. Indifference to this, in the middle of the pack out of 11 Northern Rhône wines, no real fault though, just nothing exciting. Not as good as what I had 10 years ago.

2006 vintage

London wines; 4/7/2025-4/9/2025 : A generous bring but unfortunately this wasn't showing well. Had the blue Allemand fruit but unfortunately was rather muddled and showed too much funk.

2006 vintage

Shapely & well defined, balanced. This was fully mature but holding up well.

2000 vintage

Medium red, pale but youthful, just a little bricking. A beautiful classic aged Syrah perfume, Raspberries, violets, tar soap. Maybe a bit diffuse on both nose and palate. Flavoursome but fading at the finish. A note of fenugreek suggesting a bit of oxidation. Its best days may perhaps be behind it but it is still a lovely drop.

2000 vintage

Northern Rhone lunch at La Terra in Bath. The nose on the 2000 Allemand Reynard really is something: haunting; truffle, licorice, pine and creosote with a smooth resolved palate, it was fully open for business and in a good place. It will hold for a few more years.

2000 vintage

Super Bowl 2025 Double Blind Tasting Event (Atlanta, GA) : Super Bowl LIX Blind Tasting Event, Atlanta, GA. Nose is a touch off with some stewed tomato on the finish. Celery seed, leather, cherry liqueur, spicey, touch of pepper and baby aspirin. Sweet & sour. As this sat in the glass it got better.

2006 vintage

Drank this side by side to 2004 at Torien. Decanted for 3hrs prior to dinner. The 2004 was opened 1.5hr before dinner but not decanted (as per the friend who byoed it). 2004 is one of my fav vintages but tonight it was the 2006 that shined bright… it took another 1hr into the dinner for the 2006 to open up fully but boy did it open up. Intoxicating bouquet of flowers, red fruit and aromatics like lavender, verbena and …

2006 vintage

Decanted for (loads of) sediment and started on about half an hour later. Obviously in good shape from the first sniff, with that trademark pastilley dark fruit mixed with liquorice and something volatile and deeply feral. That stylistic tension carried over on the palate, which was stylish and light on its feet, almost effortless, but also very complex and concentrated: we enjoyed notes of blood, espresso, herbes de Provence, Bloody Mary, blackberry coulis and leather - and I'm sure more …

2006 vintage

Very pleasurable, and elegant; more red fruited vs black and had that trademark screechy acidity. Good development here with some cherries, smoky tapenade, barnyard and earth. Obviously doesn’t hail from a blockbuster year but still nice to have tasted it. Legs to go further but I wouldn’t bother.

2000 vintage

Double-blind. Just an okay wine, probably under-delivered for the reputation and price.

2000 vintage

Jason's birthday : The savoury, smoky bell pepper notes made it obvious that this was another northern Rhone, guessed cool vintage Jamet or Allemand like '04. Pleasant and resolved, but lacked the oomph to be a top wine.

2000 vintage

Jason's birthday : A bit closed on the nose but better on the palate. Clearly a cooler year and less ripe than most of the wines preceding. Complex even if not super aromatic.

2000 vintage

Served blind. I was guessing burgundy with minimal intervention, and I wasn’t the only one. And I was also guessing much, much younger. So fine and elegant, with red, crunchy fruit. High on acidity, fresh, some earthy marks and olives but no blood and iron yet. From CP’s cold cellar, and in need of another 5 years I think. What a treat. Wednesday night chez CP.

2006 vintage

N Rhone Feast (Noizé) : Here it is. Blood, soil, iron filings. Not a relaxed wine, more like an epic workout in the gym or a tough climb at the limit of your ability - there's excitement and the vaguest hint of danger. This is the kind of wine that would take you on a road trip and you'd wake up in a hotel room not remember how or why you got there. Awesome.

2006 vintage

The same wild bramble/spice nose as the younger versions of this wine on the table tonight, there is definitely a kinship to the wines from this place and this winemaker's hand. Palate is on the somewhat lighter side, lovely still, leaning more cherry than dark berry notes, resolving fairly well at this middle age. Lovely wine, though maybe a step behind the others tonight.

2000 vintage

So much wildness on the nose, explosive, bramble, spice, a wine to just sit and smell. Later on there are appears to be a bit of VA, which probably adds to the lift and complexity. Allemand is known to like a bit of that, so no surprise. Medium intensity on the palate, deep, dark fruit, all that spice and bramble mixed in, only just starting to lighten a bit since release, moderate tannins make this quite drinkable today, but I …

2006 vintage

Chave vs. Allemand (Kitchen Istanbul, SF) : Funky nose, more muted with air. Unclear whether this is correct vs closed.

2000 vintage

Chave vs. Allemand (Kitchen Istanbul, SF) : Impeccably balanced nose with olives, briney; elegance on the palate, great flavor, savory. Lovely. 94

2006 vintage

Allemand vs Chave (Kitchen Istanbul) : Beautiful and expressive nose with lovely floral character with notes of cherries, pepper, rich fruit, and a hint of leather. The palate feels quite plush with nice acidity, red and dark fruit notes, meat, and more cherries. Long finish. Excellent wine, delicious and very complex.

2006 vintage

Allemand vs Chave (Kitchen Istanbul) : A little musty and slightly muted on the nose with some cherry and forest notes and a hint of flowers. Similar notes on the palate and medium finish. Not a bad wine, but this was underwhelming compared to the rest. Fell a bit short of expectations, hopefully this was just an off bottle.

2000 vintage

Nez lacté yaourt fruit Bouche fruit mûr acidité puissant Finale epice

2006 vintage

Called this as Allemand blind, so it does show that unique style. To me this has lost some of its youthful energy but hasnt quite gained tertiary complexity.

2006 vintage

96+. 96 overall, but flirted with 97 at times.

2006 vintage

Serious Cornas Tasting : Blinded. Capsicum, some pepper, lovely mouthfeel.

2000 vintage

Tasted blind. This was smuggled as a pirate into a Burgundy line up. Great nose here, dried beef, smoke, whole cluster, earthy, spice box. Fresh on the palate, may be a bit too acidic for the fruit but still within acceptable range. Great aged Northern Rhone, great food wine.

2000 vintage

Perfectly mature with aromas of leather, baked earth, black olives and menthol. It is very savoury, with a vinous core. There are meaty flavours and it is mid-weight and nicely balanced and proportioned. There are some cooler green bean and wild herb notes that work well with the wine's briary fruits. Delicious.

2000 vintage

Niche Niche 8/20 : It's Reynard, so it's good, but this is not a great bottle. Solid fruit, but the bottle is a bit dilute and the tannins are a bit rustic. This lacks the finesse you expect from Allemand in what was a generally tough vintage for the Northern Rhone.

2000 vintage

CRiBS @ La T (La Trompette, London) : Brighter, more cherry red in colour. Punchy raspberry fruit. Mid weight. Good acidity and typicity. Nicely complex. Grows in the glass for an hour or so before becoming shriller and less expressive after a couple of hours with the acidity dominating. More complete and a little more multidimensional than the Geynale alongside. ****

2000 vintage

Tooch Going Away Dinner (TDS) : Bottle seemed heat damaged. Low-ish fill.

2000 vintage

A farewell to Tooch (Chicago, IL) : Muddy. Likely heat-damaged. A shame, as it would have been really educational to compare a mature Reynard and Chaillot side by side.

2000 vintage

It has taken a long time but now this wine is mature and in my view drinking at peak. Elegant with a certain coolness of the subtle Northern Rhone smoky, olive and meaty flavours. Although very nice, the wine lacks some in complexity.

2000 vintage

Finally an Allemand I can enjoy. The younger versions were just too dark and primary for my tastes. However this bottle had a wonderful acidity that supported the classic bacon, tobacco and smoke components. This was the perfect paring with the smoked bbq ribs. The fruit was sour cherry in profile and there was also a quality reminiscent of menthol or Heitz eucalyptus but something altogether different. A very complex and enjoyable drink that convinced me to hold onto the …

2000 vintage

Complex nose of red fruit, black olive, pepper and ethanol. Acid driven, really goes close to the edge with its stem use - its black olive and minerality are extremely pronounced and almost green. Medium bodied, refined and delicate tannins. Considerable energy and tension in this wine, stern.

2000 vintage

Excellent vin, très pur. Très joli nez et bouche à l'avenant. Peut attendre encore sans souci mais déjà très beau aujourd'hui.

2000 vintage

Cellared since original release. Fresh and youthful with precise expression of red fruits and a little smoke. Medium-weight. Tannins resolved. No rush to drink this wine.

2000 vintage

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Thierry Allemand, Cornas, Reynard

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