2011 Matthieu Barret Cornas Billes Noires

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | FEBRUARY 22, 2022

Cornas has been having a moment for the last decade, thanks to the excellent work of a new generation of winemakers who have breathed new life into what were once the most rustic, wild wines of the northern Rhône. In fact, much of the Cornas made a couple generations ago was so consistently gamy, coarse, and often downright dirty. As a result, many wine lovers assumed that such character was part of the region’s terroir. To this day, some still think that “real” Cornas simply cannot be elegant and is required to be overtly wild, even feral.