2011 Cornas Terres d'Arce

This was my first visit to this family domain, which owns over 35 hectares in Crozes-Hermitage. Most of their vineyards are located on the Chassis plateau, near their home and winery, and they also own land in Larnage, the granitic northern sector of the appellation. They also have vines in Hermitage (0.29 hectare) and across the river in Cornas (1.6 hectares) and in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols (3.99 hectares), which boasts granitic soil quite similar to that of the Hermitage hill. Taking IGP holdings into account, the Michelas family owns an impressive 57 hectares of vines in the northern Rhone. The style here runs to the traditional, with new oak really only coming into play for their luxury Terres d'Arce lineup, which also gets extended barrel aging and some bottle age prior to release.