Alain Voge Cornas Les Chailles 2020

Alain Voge was referred to by his peers as “truly remarkable” and “the ultimate pioneer.” He was known for leading the way not only in Cornas but also for his St-Peray wines as well. It’s hard enough to be a star in one region, let alone another that’s completely different. Tragically, he passed away a few years ago.

One of the ‘grandfathers of Syrah,’ Voge had an illustrious wine career during his 81-year life. He somehow managed to greatly expand the already stellar reputation of his grandfather (same name) who founded the winery all those years ago.

I had a chance to taste some of the recent Alain Voge selections, which were unfortunately the last ever made by the iconic winemaker.

It’s amazing how powerful the wines are. It’s even more amazing how perfectly chiseled and representative they are to their unique Northern Rhone terroir.

The ‘Les Chailles’ is no slouch of its own, though, and has to be the very best bargain going in Cornas at the moment. The wine is gorgeous – super juicy and sappy, but still incredibly fresh and in no way overly ripe. It also has layers to unpack – a calling card of the late, great master of Syrah – with a little bit of spice and smokiness that comes in at the end as a result of some of the whole cluster maceration. What a beauty!