Alain Voge, Cornas, Les Viellies Vignes

I think that I wrecked this bottle by decanting it! I decantered for about 1.5hr. The bouquet was jammy, fruity, and enjoyable. On the tongue, there was a strong acid and shy tannins. This is why I decided to decanter. Plus CT Insights stated that some air would be beneficial for this vintage....big mistake! The acid just kept on developing to the point that the fruit and tannins were just obliterated. After a short period, the strong acid was overbearing. …

2021 vintage

Voge's 2021 Cornas Vieilles Vignes was sourced from biodynamically-farmed vines averaging more than 60 years of age. Fermented in stainless steel and aged for 20 months in French oak barriques (10% new), it is a deep ruby Syrah with an intense aromatic profile. Black, red and blue bramble fruits are accented with notes of allspice, lavender potpourri, black olive tapenade, graphite, white pepper and dry earth. Medium-bodied, vibrantly acidic, judiciously oaked and with well-integrated alcohol (13%), it delivers flavors in …

2021 vintage

Beautiful raspberry and cherries on the nose at first. After an hour, there were some hints of vanilla and some slight white pepper. The cherries follow on the tongue and mixes well with the acid. The acid starts the finish. The tannins are smooth and silky going down the throat. And as this wine airs out, it just opens up to some blissful wine drinking. Just a beautiful, enjoyable wine to drink.

2021 vintage

2/2, vg cork. Decanted and immediately served. Still quite youthful appearance - deep ruby/garnet core, pale garnet rim. Nose shows lovely pure red fruit, touch of bilberry too, violets, touch of stoniness. Clean though, almost pristine. Medium bodied, lovely pure red fruit on initial entry, touch of meatiness coming through, this is middleweight with lovely vibrant acids and a touch of grip still on the very good length finish. It’s delicious, drinking well and showing no signs of declining anytime …

2004 vintage

A good wine which, based on this bottle, is approaching the end of its drinking window. Some pretty red fruit notes still linger and are lovely, but are fading a bit, and the palate on this bottle was dominated by tertiary leather notes.

2004 vintage

Given my expectations for this wine, it was a disappointment. Even after leaving this open in the cellar overnight, it did not seem to gain the kind of complexity I hoped it would. Certainly better than last night, it seems to be missing some of the elements I expect from a good northern Rhone red. Where are the meaty, smoky, olive paste tertiary aromas and flavors I was hoping for? These elements were present somewhat in the nose, but not …

2018 vintage

After dinner with saucisson and cheese. Paired really well. Soft, blue fruits and resolved tannins. Maybe slightly too round, but enjoyable all the same

2018 vintage

Tasted blind, guessed Bandol. There’s a plush wave of baking spice and sweet oak, but where’s the Syrah identity? The black pepper, the meat, the smoke? Overripe fruit and vanilla dominate, despite just 15% new oak. It feels broad but not precise, plush but not polished. At this price point, I expected more tension, more excitement. Instead, it leans too far into softness, and loses its sense of place.

2018 vintage

This presents itself with scents of black and blue fruit, and notes of incense and olive tapenade on the nose. The core contains blackberries and black cherries with a touch of plum, backed by cedar, menthol, rosemary, smoke and salty mineral elements. The energy level is more than satisfactory, the tannins are very silky and the finish is agreeably persistent.

2018 vintage

Part of a North vs South Rhone tasting with my wine group. Long finish, dark color, full bodied, and a great nose.

2018 vintage

Monthly Tasting Group: Northern Rhones (Hazelwood, Bloomington, MN) : Dark red color, 3mm clear edge. Opened 3 hours beforeheand and recorked after. Drank a glass over an hour. What a great nose, just a killer perfume of violets, dried earth, leather, funk and red berries with an infusion of subtle blue fruits. The palate still has some room to evolve further, raspberries, blueberry, cured meat, leather, soil, dried spice, a little oak yet and some briary blood meal minerals on …

2004 vintage

16 of us dinned at Hazelwood's MOA location. Boy, the MOA is back in full swing as this was slammed on a usually calm Sunday night everywhere in the Twin Cities. Still, things went pretty well! Here I love the precision & pristine fruit of the Voge. Hard to believe this needs more time but I think it will rock in 3-5yrs. Still a little primary tonight and some hints of oak to resolve but this is NR to target …

2004 vintage

Rustic. Loaded with band-aid, brett, and VA. Finish was very astringent, high black tea notes. Stylistically, not my jam.

2021 vintage

Deep, dark reddish-purple color. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & plums with overtones of garrigue, earthy/dusty & floral notes, anise, pepper, bacon, olives, herbs, spices, minerals & a slight hint of oak in the background. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, with ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries & plums with herbs, pepper, spices, minerals & a slight hint of oak. Lingering finish. Drinks quite …

2021 vintage

First time drinking a Cornas. Had this with Christmas turkey dinner. Pnp ,There was generous good red fruit on the nose. The taste was nice, well balanced and supple, maybe opulent. The finish was long with an ending that I could not define. I have another bottle of this vintage. I do wonder what a bit of time in the decanter might have done to this wine. I will give it a few more years in the cellar. I also …

2018 vintage

Nice but not to the level of the last bottle. Seemed a bit tight.

2018 vintage

Part of a Syrah vs. Cabernet night with my wine group. Full bodied and I would have guessed by the fruit that it was new world. But then it was followed by a 2018 Gramercy Cellars Syrah John Lewis Reserve, and it was definitely less fruit forward than that and much more balanced. This was a treat!

2018 vintage

Northern Rhone trip 2024; 5/14/2024-5/19/2024 : From 60 year old vines, aged for 20 months in 20% new oak, 80% old oak. Intensity medium. Blackberry, blueberry, cherry, spices, creamy touch. Acidity medium(+). Tannins medium(+). Finish medium(+). (tasting at Domaine Alain Voge, Cornas)

2021 vintage

Annual wine trip; Northern Rhone & Cote de Beaune with Bas; 5/14/2024-5/20/2024 (France) : [Tasting at Domaine Alain Voge] Medium+ intensity on the nose with black fruit, bacon notes, spices, olives, licorice. Medium+ acidity, medium+ tannins, long finish. 92+ From 60 year old vines, 20 months in barrel, 20% new

2021 vintage

Been a while since I've opened a Cornas. Lovely purple color. Bewitching nose of black fruits, pepper, florals and some funk. On the palate this is great. Blackberries, blueberries, black cherries, pepper and metallic funk. Violets, vanilla, black truffles. Slightly chalky tannins at first but it became very smooth after it decanted for 2hrs. Loooong finish. Very high quality, in a good spot right now but could easily take 10 more years.

2018 vintage

Voge and Friends (Llewelyn's) : Purple / garnet colour. Lovely nose - just a hint of earth, some dark fruits. On the palate - grippy, some discussion of oakiness at the table but I didn't really perceive that. There's a lightness to but it's not dilute - jolly nice stuff. The table's #4 and my #3 WOTN.

2004 vintage

Cornas, Voge and Friends (Llewelyn's, Herne Hill) : Dark as they come, takes a while to unfurl. Black fruit, olive tapenade, some earthiness and nuttiness, as well as hints of heated coffee grounds. This has body and weight to it, a certain firmess still - despite the age it feels like there is a lot left in the tank on this showing, belies the vintage. Very nice.

2004 vintage

Voge & Friends (Llewelyn's Herne Hill, London) : Dark fruits, some olive brine and a little twist of green pepper. Palate in a good place but in some ways feels younger and less resolved that the 2009 that preceded it.

2004 vintage

Natural Cork. 14.5% alcohol. Day 1: Excellent and while young shows great promise for future aging. First bottle of six. Medium purple with tar, spices, blueberries, blackberries, coffee beans, black pepper and minerals. Good concentration and medium plus finish. Excellent showing. 94 points Day 2: Big and youthful. Nice fruit tar, black pepper, mild funk, stone and floral notes. For sure will age 15 years if stored properly. Excellent value. 94 points Day 3: For sure a letdown compared to …

2018 vintage

Part of a Syrah from around the world night with my wine group. I may be shorting this a point, as I think this was the group favorite. I don't see Jeb Dunnuck's 98 point rating, probably closer to Wine Spectator's 94 points. But this is a very good wine. Probably just entering its drinking window.

2018 vintage

Demande beaucoup de temps de carafe à ce stage. Pourrait ce comparer à un cabernet. Style graphite et fruits noirs. Très beau potentiel

2018 vintage

First go w Voge’s 2018 Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes (14.5% ABV) - a truly compelling Syrah nirvana - clearly in the first phase of the drinking window. Dark, dense ruby-garnet, violet reflections in the glass. Super-wide & open nose featuring cassis, black- & blueberries, a tremendous amount of white pepper, garigue, earth & graphite. M+-bodied palate, surprisingly velvet in style w grainy tannins at the close, fine-tuned & delicious concentration of fruit & acidity, multi-layered, long, pepper-driven elegant close!

2018 vintage

Once again, showing very well four months after my first tasting of this. It is tightly wound to be sure (especially compared to the '19 Verset I also had today), but hints at oodles of beautiful dark Syrah fruit lurking and ready to burst in a few years. Primary with flowers and fruit now, this is bound to expand as it ages. I'm on a Northern Rhone kick at the moment, and loving them. 5-13-16-9: 93/100. (Pretty sure the score …

2018 vintage

A deliciously fruity and complex wine. Decanted for 3 hours. Nose is very typical for a Norther Rhone Syrah with animal, bacon notes and violets. Still young but already shows its potential. Wait 5 years

2018 vintage

Truly a wonderful Cornas. Yes it is tannic and tightly wrapped, but still shows oodles of dark olive and blackberry fruit aromas and flavors. Seems to slide over the tongue in the mouth. This will age for years and years, but if you can't wait, it is still impressive at this tender young age. And this is from pop and pour! I immediately ordered more. At $70 on discount, it's a deal. 5-13-17-9: 94/100.

2018 vintage

Powerful black fruit smell. Liquorice, molasses, shoe polish, sweet smelling. Dense and rich. Very polished, surprisingly soft tannins for the age of the wine. Could be slightly fresher or brighter. Nevertheless excellent.

2018 vintage

stellar

2018 vintage

So very good. I love this wine.

2018 vintage

blackberry jam, fruitcake and orange peel nose, juicy and primary with firm tannins and clean and abundant high toned Syrah fruit, long finish. This wine has a long life ahead of it. 92++

2018 vintage

Young, very good material here. Ripe black fruit, medium bodied, excellent balance. Stays fresh and classic. Drinks well kow but give it 10 years for tertiary complexity.

2018 vintage

Love the vibrancy on the wine at such a young stage. Classic Cornas notes of blue gamey fruit and impeccable balance throughout. Coravined in 1 week span. Best glasses were the last 2.

2018 vintage

This is sitting in a pretty dumb, flat phase right now. Some textural elements, but it really seems to have retreated into itself. Come back in a few years.

2004 vintage

Very pretty wine. Started a bit unruly but after and hour really showed a wonderful Cornas character.

1987 vintage

My perfect syrah. It's very rich looking in the glass. Medium to full bodied, with lots of dark fruit - blackberry, blueberry, and plum balanced with earthiness of cedar/autumn smokiness and acidity. I love this comment, "almost old school vibe that carries plenty of power yet still stays light and elegant." I 100% agree - power but/with elegance. For me, I can drink this on its own or with food. I would absolutely buy this again.

2018 vintage

We loved this wine. Smooth tannins, tart with dark berry but not overwhelmingly fruity. Some pepper, vegetation. A great all around wine. We can't wait to drink more of this in 5-10 years.

2018 vintage

Monthly Tasting Group: Northern Rhone and a Couple CdP's (A - Side Public House, St. Paul, MN) : Dark red color. PNP, drank a small glass over an hour plus. Well this is still singing, deeply earthy with a violet infused perfumed nose, really pretty dark red and black berry fruits and subtle ground herbs and whit pepper. The palate offers a soft, satin texture, medium full bodied, lively with the same deep red and black fruits, soft plush tannins …

2004 vintage

First let me say, WHAT A BARGAIN. deep garnet candied cherries, fruitcake and orange peel nose, brandied blueberries. still primary with a ton of backbone and stuffing. concentrated syrah fruit and quite spicy and garrigue like on the lengthy finish. 93-95

2018 vintage

Virtual Northern Rhone with 1 shiraz (zoom) : Decanted for 45 minutes before transferring to jars for transport at 5pm. Poured into glass at 7pm and drank a glass plus over 1 hour. This wine was also lean. Really nice herbs, red fruit, earth and cured meats.

2004 vintage

Virtual Northern Rhone Tasting (Home) : Dark red color with an 8mm transition. Decanted for 45 minutes before transferring to jars for transport at 5pm. Poured into glass at 7pm and drank a glass plus over 3 hours. This starts off with vegetal notes that largely blows off and gives way to a mature nose of dark fruits, olive tapenade, dried leaves and blood meal, with notes of animal and mushroom. The palate is medium plus bodied, red and dark …

2004 vintage

Of course this is great, the only bad Voge is a corked one. Pepper, cherry, spice, funk, and a savage thread add complexity. Cote Rotie elegance and Cornas wildness. Held its own single blind against a 2004 Pavillon and the terroir difference was very illuminating. Drink now for sure. Much more advanced than a 2005 La Fontaine last year.

2004 vintage

Decanted, moderately heavy sediment. sweaty saddle leather and brandied blueberry and cherries, iron tang a little more pronounced and somewhat reminiscent of a village burgundy. The fruit is pure and polished but medium weight here. There remains a lot of tannins suggesting a long life ahead. 92-93

2004 vintage

Ruby with a hint of purple. Saddle leather, mature fruit, pepper and mushroom are all elements of the stunning, complex nose. Maybe some violets as well. Traditional, complex Syrah that has a silky texture and wonderful lift. Drinking beautifully tonight but should last for ages on balance. (94)

2004 vintage

Vinetasters: Cornas vs. Cote Rotie (Skokie, IL) : Served double blind in a flight of Cornas or Cote Rotie. Fairly nice nose, showing some classic aromas. There's a good amount of red fruit, some black pepper, and a touch of earth. The palate seems to come across as a little bit too horsey and earthy, and there's a lot of gaminess in the palate. This doesn't come across as too oaky, and I'm guessing this is probably a fairly classical …

2004 vintage

Ripe - I forget that about 2004. Deep and plummy, a little anonymous, but with air it turned more smoky and savory. Very nice.

2004 vintage

Great wine. Bacon, earth, black cherry fruit. Complex profile with super intensity and balance. (95)

2004 vintage

Are you sure?

Alain Voge, Cornas, Les Viellies Vignes

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews