Cave de Tain, Cornas ‘Arènes Sauvages’ - Single Bottle

Cave de Tain, Cornas ‘Arènes Sauvages’

Vintage: 2010

A dark ruby Syrah with a bold bouquet of plums and blackberries with deeper spice, leather and woodsmoke notes. In the mouth it is balanced and fine, with a rich mouthfeel and lingering flavours of black cherry, dark chocolate and pepper.

About this bottle: Located between Valence and Lyon in France’s Rhône Valley, Cave de Tain lies at the foot of the Hermitage hillside. Arènes Sauvages means ‘wild areas’, much like the area where the vines for this wine grow – in a natural amphitheatre around the village of Cornas. The name Cornas is said to come from a celtic world (‘cair’ or ‘cor’) meaning chalk, seen as a reference to the particular terroir around the village: a mix of chalk and granite-rich sandy soils. This wine was made by celebrated winemaker Xavier Frouin, who regards his beloved Syrah grape as the most pure and noble variety, as well as the most exciting. In his ten years at Cave de Tain, Xavier has overseen the development of the new winery, introduced smaller barrels for ageing instigated better vineyard plot selection to further improve the quality of the wines. The wine is put in French oak barrels to mature for 19 months.