Franck Balthazar, Cornas, Casimir

Magnifique équilibre entre richesse du fruit et fraîcheur. Bouche très élégante et digeste. Prêt à boire.

2017 vintage

PnP. Just off a 24 hour business trip back from Istanbul so I don’t expect my sharpest review. Color is deep opaque garnet/purple with some age on rim. On the nose: Pepper, Sour funk, cassis, plum, violets and vanilla. Nose is quite rich. On the palate: Tart cassis, pepper, lots of tannins, violets and plum. Seems More acidic than normal for Cornas. PnP isn’t fair as it’s young and needs time to open. Very easy drinking. Needs another 5 years. …

2017 vintage

Lovely lighter bodied Cornas. Pronounced black pepper flavors along with the usual Syrah suspects - dark berry fruit, violets etc. Very much ready to drink now and I would not wait at all. Perhaps better a couple years ago but very good now. Added September 2023: after drinking several more bottles of this, I am revising my expectations on aging potential. This has more time ahead as well. There are still substantial tannins at the finish and the wine firms …

2013 vintage

Beautiful nose. Tannins present, but rounded. More time in the bottle will not hurt this one. I saved some for day 2. Still going strong. Medium to long finish. Only have one left of of this vintage. I will hold on to it and reassess. I think this wine may have some upside.

2017 vintage

Xmas day with beef stew Thought this showed nicely. Black pepper and dark fruit. Doesn’t drift into the gamey/meaty zone. Good

2017 vintage

The young-vine bottling of Franck Balthazar, the grapes sourced mainly from approximately 10-yo vines in La Légre (70%) with some old-vine (averaging 50 yo) fruit from Les Mazards (30%). The grapes are fermented spontaneously in concrete vats, after which the wine is aged for 14-18 months in old 600-liter demi-muids. Bottled unfined, unfiltered and with a tiny addition of sulfites. 13,5% alcohol. Deep, dark and almost fully opaque blackish red color. Somewhat brooding yet fragrant nose with sweetish and slightly …

2017 vintage

Fresh and appealing aromas with this really deep salt layer that really shows that complexity can be found here. Great fruit of blackberries, plums and with a perfect pepper layer that creates desire. Good full-bodied and fresh wine with a nice structure. Pretty purple concentrated and densely packed fruit with pepper tones that lie over herbs and various spices creates interest. Good acidity and excellent tannin structure. Great wine with great potential. 93 points.

2017 vintage

Young. Nose of black fruit, some meat and leather. Starts out really well and I love the entry, but it lost its energy quickly. The palate seems concentrated, but just not ready to fan out. Some violets and a hint of pepper. Give 2-3 years as it decidedly should improve with time. NR

2017 vintage

Very young. Nose of black cherry. The palate is concentrated with notes of red and blue fruits, violets and a hint of pepper. Expansive and enjoyable. Showing more on day 2. Will certainly improve with time.

2017 vintage

Classic Northern Rhône nose of dark berries, olives, savory notes, and violets. Fresh and lively on the palate with medium tannins, good acidity, and more dark berry flavors along with a hint of plums and iron. Good finish. Drinking quite well now and while not the most complex wine, I enjoyed drinking it very much. I do think this is made for enjoyment now rather than extended aging.

2013 vintage

Dark velvet red, the nose is muted. rich, dark fruits, spices , tannins are soft but need time to unravel, good acidity. With time opens up, light savoury notes, spices/pepper becomes more evident.

2017 vintage

Fresh, Berries, nice tannins

2017 vintage

A cool and even nose of fresh plum, menthol, earth and purple flowers. It has a nice balance between fruits and the more savoury elements. It has depth but feels breezy and airy and length is deceptively long.

2013 vintage

Barrel sample tasting at the Domaine. The Cuvee Casimir is 70% from Franck's younger vine parcels and 30% from older vines. 14-18 months in used (5+year 600L barrels). On the nose red fruit and spice. on the palate deep red fruits (cherries/plums) and grippy tannins - very youthful. Give this 3-5 years to come together.

2017 vintage

Post Tyrrell's Dinner @ GC : Cherry, red currant, violets - then very earthy and peppery - some wild elements here that meld well with the more fruity and floral notes. The palate has plenty of peppery spice and has good tannins that are weaved into the fruit well. Good length and got better with air.

2013 vintage

Cornas is & always will be one of my absolutely favorite Appellations in whole France. What a stunning showing from Frank Balthazar. The nose shows a beautiful melange of lush dark cherries, smoked meat, violets, crushed stone and a hint of thyme. On the palate this guy is so well balanced with a beautiful integrated acidity. Very round, fine, long finish with a lovely "graphite" touch on the back end. Can play with a lot of different food. Worth every …

2013 vintage

Sorry for the German: "Ist das geil!!!" This purple coloured wine does bring it all together: the fabulous terroir for Syrah without any overmaturity on one hand being a classic on the other being straight forward fruity. It has the violets, black berries and spices so typical for Cornas, a mineral backbone and perfect mid weight feel. A great wine at reasonable price. Sadly, Cornas is not well known inside Germany, although Clape who might be the appelation leader such …

2013 vintage

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Franck Balthazar, Cornas, Casimir

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