Michelas St Jemms Cornas Les Murettes Syrah 2013

Cornas, some may be surprised to learn is in fact, a renowned winegrowing region in the Northern Rhone and not the plural of the protective outer layer of the eye... That would be corneas. Ironically, the wines of Cornas are said to be so beautiful that to look upon them you can go temporarily blind. This example from Michelas St-Jemms is no exception. Made from 100% Syrah it has complex flavours of dark forest fruit, mocha and a subtle suggestion of roasted meat. There is tremendous depth and concentration, with a lovely balanced structure and long finish. You obviously won't go blind but you may well be struck dumb.

Based in Mercurol, Michelas St-Jemms estate was created by Robert and Yvette Michelas in 1961 which makes this estate one of the oldest of the Northern Rhône. The domaine since 1988 has been managed by their 4 children: 3 daughters and a son. Sebastian is in charge of the vineyard management, Corinne and Florence work in the cellar and Sylvie looks after the estate's administration. Michelas-St-Jemms aim is to produce subtle and authentic wines which are representative of the terroirs of the region. They use eco-friendly techniques avoiding herbicides and fungicides so as to encourage biodiversity in their vineyard. Yields are controlled by strict winter pruning and a green harvest in summer if necessary. Leaves are removed in late summer to allow the sun to reach the fruit and improve ventilation. All the crop is hand-harvested to ensure optimum quality. Hand-harvested on steep narrow slopes. Grapes are picked at optimum ripeness. Each plot is vinified separately in rotating barrels to enhance flavour, colour and tannin extraction. Maturation occurs in 400 to 500 litre oak barrels, 25% of which is new oak and the rest 2 - 4 years old barrels. The wine is filtered before being bottled.