Johann Michel - Cornas Cuvee Jana 2015

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A bigger, richer wine, the 2015 Cornas Jana is a tiny-production cuvée and the flagship release for the estate. Completely destemmed and aged in older barrels, it offers a killer bouquet of graphite, crushed rocks, new saddle leather and layers of black raspberry and black cherry fruit. This full-bodied, concentrated, tannic effort is going to rival, if not surpass, the 2010. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Johann Michel Description

Johann Michel is a self-taught winemaker who discovered his passion while tasting old bottles of wine with his grandfather. His first vintage was 1997. He works alongside his wife Emmanuelle, farming a little over 5.5 hectares (13.5 acres) spread between three AOC’s:

4 hectares are in Cornas, all farmed under "culture raisonnée" (sustainable method), in the lieux dits "Les Côtes", "Bayonnet", "Chaillot" and the parcel called "Saveaux" for the AOC Cornas. Yields are very low here – 33 hl/ha for Cornas Tradition and 25 hl/ha for Cuvee Jana. He also produces a special cuvée, only in certain years: “Cuvée de la Mère Michel”, a tribute to his wife & a play on the French song “La Mere Michelle”. AOC Cornas is one of the smallest AOC’s in France (only 155 hectares; 382 acres) with an average production of 61,000 cases per year for the entire appellation.

0.37 hectares in Saint Joseph AOC. Planted only with Syrah, Johann’s first vintage was 2016 with 700 bottles produced. The vineyard is 120 meters high in altitude with a density of 4,400 vines per hectare. The Saint Joseph wine is made using 100% destemmed grapes. Saint Joseph AOC is quite large compared to Cornas AOC, with a total acreate around 920 hectares (2,270 acres). The quality of the soils can be very different from one part to the appellation to another part of the AOC.

1 hectare in Saint Peray, planted with Marsanne and Roussanne. His parcels are located at the extreme South of the Saint Peray AOC (a few meters away from the border with the Cornas AOC). Johann makes 2 cuvées of Saint Peray: Saint Peray Blanc (a blend of 50% Roussanne and 50% Marsanne), and Saint Peray Blanc Cuvée M (100% Marsanne).

Vinous: 94 Points

Lurid violet. Mineral-accented blackberry and boysenberry on the deeply perfumed nose, along with powerful spice and floral notes. Densely packed but energetic dark berry liqueur flavors show smoky bacon and violet accents and pick up a candied licorice quality with air. Coats the palate and shows excellent concentration with no excess weight. Finishes impressively long and spicy, displaying bright mineral cut, slow-building tannins and resonating blue fruit character. (Drink between 2023-2031)