Cornas Lieu dit les Cotes (Les Vires)

Cave Cuilleron is, above all, a family estate. A passion for wine has been in their genes for three generations.
For decades, the domaine has undertaken traditional, straightforward vinification. Cuilleron’s main ingredients? Hand picking of grapes, meticulous sorting in situ, alcoholic fermentation using only wild yeasts, and ageing in oak.
The business may be growing, but remains deeply attached to the traditional principles of cap-punching and open-vat pumpovers. They use no oenological products, and technology is kept to the bare minimum.
Yves articulates his vision of the terroir through the wines he makes. From plot to bottle, many decisions are required to express this vision and arrive at wines that satisfy his expectations. A Cuilleron wine bears the imprint of its terroir: it has an original character. Although a large vat room has been built, we have kept many small vats used for single-plot vinification. Although Yves seeks an overarching harmony in the range, the Cuilleron touch lends each wine its own style. They do not focus on a single cuvée and establish a hierarchy; instead, each product is bespoke – the word that best defines us.
Origin: A locality in the south of the municipality of Cornas, “Les Côtes” is a mid-hillside plot in the shape of an amphitheatre. The soil comprises granite and saprolites from the crystalline basement. Most of the vines in this plot were planted in 1911, and the cuvée made with its grapes was called “Les Vires”.
Soils: granitic, terraced.
Varieties planted: Syrah.
Cultivation: high-density planting (8,000-10,000 vines per hectare). No insecticides or pesticides, few treatments (depending on weather), small amount of organic-only fertiliser, with respect of soil and vine balance. Vigour and yield control, leaf-thinning and green harvesting to promote grape maturation.
Vinification: the grapes are hand-picked; and then sorted, crushed and partially destemmed in the cellar. Fermented in open, temperature-controlled vats for about 3 weeks, with regular cap-punching and pumping-over. Malolactic-fermented in barriques with native yeasts.
Maturation: 18 months in barrel.
Alcohol content: 13%.
Output: approx. 3,400 bottles.
Style: a complex, profound wine with a nose of jammy dark fruits, tapenade and roasted coffee beans. Attractive, elegant length, with ripe tannins and a long, powerful finish.
Ageing: wine made for laying down; slightly hard when young. Preferable to wait 4-5 years, but it can age 15 years or more.
Food match: characterful meat such as lamb or duck (e.g. confit of lamb shank with cherry tomatoes, honey and rosemary).

91-94 Points – Wine Advocate
The 2015 Cornas Lieu Dit les Côtes comes from a terrific, terraced site of granitic soils in the southern part of Cornas. Fermented and aged in barrel (50% being new), its saturated purple color is followed by a ripe, voluptuous Cornas that has tons of violets, licorice, cassis and black raspberry aromas and flavors, with big, rich, layered texture and sweet tannin. It's a hedonistic turn on that will impress in its youth, yet keep for more than 15 years.