### Cellar Favorite: 2000 Noël Verset Cornas

BY NEAL MARTIN | JUNE 23, 2025

Writer and Rhône expert John Livingston-Learmonth eloquently described Noël Verset as “a quiet pillar of Cornas.” Not so long ago, bottles of Verset Cornas were inexpensive and regularly appeared at dinners. It is still mindboggling that Verset turned grapes into wine for three-quarters of a century after debuting with the 1931 at the tender age of 12! He wound down his workload from around 2004 and passed away in 2015 at the ripe old age of 95. Some of his parcels were sold to Thierry Allemand, and his treasured holding in Chaillots went to his nephew, Franck Balthazar. Prices of bottles rapidly increased as they are wont to do posthumously, cognoscenti understanding that each bottle opened is one less in existence. (As an aside, it is well worth reading [Josh Raynolds’ account](https://vinous.com/articles/noel-verset-cornas-1985-2006-jan-2015) of a Verset vertical back to 1985.)

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1750685825363-cornas+verset_Vinous.JPG)

A recent bottle was a pertinent reminder of how Verset’s wines can bring such joy. At 25 years old, the **2000 Cornas** is intense on the nose with dark berry fruit, pressed iris flower, tantalising glimpses of star anise and a discrete menthol scent that becomes more pronounced after a second pour. The delineation is wonderful. The palate is medium-bodied with a core of sorbet-fresh red fruit, hints of blood orange and raspberry, with a light undercurrent of _garrigue_ towards the feisty finish. Whilst it does not rank amongst Verset’s greatest achievements—such as the 1991 or 1998—the 2000 is a refined Cornas at its peak. Based on this showing, it will clearly give another 15 years of drinking pleasure. **93** /Drink 2025-2040.

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Cellar Favorite: 2000 Noël Verset Cornas

Cellar Favorite: 2000 Noël Verset Cornas (Jun 2025)

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