2023 Cornas Chante-Perdrix

Winemaker Marco Beckmann recalls the 2023 growing season as fairly uneventful—until the massive heatwave at the end of August. “Arid conditions like this are terrible for young vines, as they cannot pick up sugar ripeness later on because they lose all their leaves,” he explained. Once the heatwave had passed, another significant challenge loomed: an anticipated 200 millimeters of rainfall within just a few hours, forecasted for Monday, September 18. “We basically had to ensure that most of the grapes were harvested by midday, as the rains were expected to hit in the afternoon. I remember the cold room and all the space outside it being literally full of grapes. We had to pick the grapes in an incredibly short period. All in all, we managed to harvest roughly 85% before the heavy rains,” Beckmann concluded. During my visit, I tasted 29 samples, and the 2022 vintage stood out as a success for Delas, delivering enticing results across all appellations without any misses. At the top of the quality pyramid, the Côte-Rôtie La Landonne, Hermitage Les Bessards and Hermitage Ligne de Crête Lieu-Dit Les Grandes Vignes are all gorgeous representations of their respective terroirs. Notably, alcohol levels for 2022 remain moderate, generally ranging between 12.5% and 13.5%. Early tastings of the 2023 barrel samples suggest a worthy successor to the 2022s, albeit slightly less concentrated and dense. However, the 2023s are distinguished by ample freshness and an expressive fruit profile.