So I did what I normally do not do, because I panisked when my usual store stopped having the my favourite Cornas. I bought a case of Courbis Cornas Champelrose 2009.
I read that the vintage 2004 I loved was a rather bad year, while 2009 was a perfect year. "Bad" usually means ready to drink earlier. So when should I expect the 2009 to mellow down for happy drinking?
Michael, since you have a case, my suggestion would be to open a bottle a year for the next 12 years to see how the wine changes with time. A friend of mine has a "rule of 15" for N Rhone Syrah, meaning that he waits until the wine is 15 years old before opening. At that point, however, the fruit is mostly gone and has been replaced by tertiary aromas (earth, smoked meat, tobacco, leather, olives, perhaps wet horse blanket :)) which is what he loves. Your mileage may vary, as they say.
I also don't know what your storage conditions are like. If you have to store the wine in warmer conditions (>15°C) your wine will develop faster than if it is stored at 10°C.
Mark Lipton
Well, I got a case of 6. Reviews from 2011 suggest it needed 4 more year of cellaring, meaning it should be good now. So I can try one and decide.
Well, the 2004 was great already in 2011 so thats 7years old, and was great in 2015, thats 11 years old. The "tertiary" aromas were very apparent then . So I think the 2009 will be drinking well from next year and better towa rds 2020. But then we need to add the effect of vintage differences, which Im not so experienced at.
I have them in my living room in a dark corner (no sunlight in that part of the room). so thats 20-21C.
I don't know this wine, but the folks in Cornas will tell you that 7 yrs is the minimum to wait before drinking it, although you can drink it just after release also. Mind you that was "old style" Cornas, not sure what the Champelrose is like.
2004 was a decent but not stellar year in the Rhone, good producers made excellent wine. 2009 as you note was much better. Typically a better vintage means a longer wait.That's very warm, the wine will age faster than normal. There are some that will tell you temps like that will spoil your wine, however IMHO this is not so, it's rapid temperature swings that cause problems.
Hope you enjoy this as much as you did the 04!
Is the 7 years from the vintage or from the release date?
The store claimed it was "old style". or at least "older than Delas". but a cornas expert on cellartracker say its very modern.
Perhaps the store meant that courbis is traditional, and the more expensive offerings are trad. but the champelrose is a modern version from them.
I have not experienced any flawed ones from my rack. closest might be a 2006 Luce vite Lucente. But it was expected to be "over the hill" according to cellartracker. I only had it in my possession 1 year. But I tend to not save a wine more than 5 years.
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