Domaine Dumien Serrette Dumien Serrette Cornas Patou 2020 750ml

Old school goodness all the way, the 2020 Cornas Patou offers up an awesome nose of bloody blue fruits, leather, iron, and violets. This carries to a full-bodied, structured, tannic, yet pure barrel sample that’s going benefit from 4–6 years of bottle age and keep for two decades. This cuvée comes from 80-year-old vines and is brought up all in older barrels. If you love classic Cornas, give this a whirl.

Not yet bottled, the 2018 Cornas Patou is head-turning stuff, with thrilling amounts of blue and black fruits, ground herbs, pepper, and beef blood aromas and flavors. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it’s a rockingly good wine. This cuvée comes from granite soils and very old vines (average of 80 years in age) and is vinified all in concrete and aged in used oak. It’s straight-up classic juice well worth seeking out and cellaring.

Shows great focus and freshness, with a gorgeous stream of blackberry, blueberry and violet supported by a bed of ultrafine tannins and chalky minerals. Offers olive tapenade and wood spice flecks, which add a savory detail to the silky, long palate. Best from 2025 through 2040. 125 cases made, 50 cases imported. (Kristen Bieler)

Inky violet color. Smoke- and spice-accented aromas of ripe dark fruits, licorice and leather, with a floral nuance building into the background. Shows a bit of rustic character, but in an endearing way (at least for me), offering sweet cherry-cola, cassis and smoky-bacon flavors and a spicy touch of cracked pepper. Finishes long and smoky, with dusty tannins and the floral note repeating.

Nicolas Serrette has turned out a mint-edged, slightly red-fruited 2020 Cornas Patou, with some darker hints of Ribena. From 80-year-old vines and aged in mainly older barrels, it’s full-bodied and supple on the mid-palate, then finishes fresh and long, with an impressive complement of mouth-starching tannins. I found it decidedly less impressive than the 2019, but it could surprise.