CORNAS
2022 Pur Granit Domaine Lionnet
2022 Pur Granit Cornas Deep purple, the nose explodes into pure bright dark fruit, blueberry and raspberry, cola and damson, Smokey and sweet but also a sour cherry cola note too, green sappy tannin but not astringent, very very good indeed 13.5%L&S (Oct 2023)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Dense forest berry fruit is wrapped around a compact core of healthy tannins. The peppery and stony aspects of this impressive Cornas are equally strong. Long, plush finish with excellent energy, still with some youthful firmness. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2026. Drinking range: 2026 - Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com (Apr 2024)
Domaine Lionnet
We came across the wines of Domaine Lionnet purely by chance one day at the Marché-Aux-Vins in Ampuis. On a walk across the bridge from Tain l’Hermitage to Tournon to blow away the cobwebs, we took a detour into a dusty wineshop full of Rhône treasures. Here the caviste, when asked for the up-and-coming domaines of the region, guided us a bottle of Cornas Terre Brulée and a love affair began.
More than an infatuation, the wines seem to get better with every vintage. Already the 2021 is extraordinarily good and is drinking now - we cannot wait to see how the 2022s develop, they tasted remarkable from barrel in October.
This is a truly lovely estate that is run immaculately by Corinne & Ludovic. Ludovic Izerable came to this domaine by marriage to Corinne, the daughter of Pierre and granddaughter of Michel Lionnet. She took the reins in 2003. The Izerables immediately converted the domaine to organic farming and have been certified since 2009.
The word 'Cornas' derives from the Celtic word for 'burnt earth' hence the name of the Domaine's flagship cuvée 'Terre Brûlée'. The domaine is a mere 4 hectares, in Cornas and Saint Joseph. In the latter, their vines are in Châteaubourg, the southernmost village of the appellation, at 300m altitude. In Cornas, they have 7 parcels of vines, mostly between 40 and over 100 years old, with one parcel of young vines planted in 2008. No pesticides, herbicides or commercial fertilisers are used, and the soil is worked by horse and a small caterpillar-tracked machine.
The grapes are handpicked and vinified as whole bunches - nothing is added at any stage and the vinification takes place with naturally occurring yeasts. As a result, the harvest has to be ultra-clean and that contributes to the aromatic purity of the wines. After the alcoholic fermentation with pigeage the free run wine is drawn off and the marc is pressed gently in a vertical press from the 19th century. The malolactic fermentation is allowed to take place in resin or stainless steel vats, and only once completed do the wines get racked and transferred to barrel for two winters - a total of 18 months - half in 225l and half in demi-muids of 600l. No new wood is used. The wines are then bottled without fining or filtration.
ORDERING VIA OUR WEBSITE:
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- Submit your Wishlist order form with your details and please indicate any special requirements in the notes, including whether you would like the wines duty paid.
- We will respond as quickly as possible with confirmation of your order and your invoice.
Please note that certain wines are on very tight allocations and will first be offered to customers who buy across the range. If you have any queries, please email our primeurs team or speak to your usual L&S contact.
ORDERING VIA EMAIL:
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STORAGE OPTIONS:
Wines bought en primeur are scheduled to arrive in the UK over the course of the next eighteen months. If you do not wish to take home delivery, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our primeurs team for more information.
While helpful, we do not require a firm commitment on delivery destination to process your primeur order at this stage. Our team will be in contact with you when your wines arrive in the UK to confirm the necessary delivery details.
() or your normal Lea and Sandeman contact.RHÔNE PRIMEUR FAQ
OFFER: All wines are offered subject to availability and final confirmation.
PRICING: All prices are quoted IN BOND ex-VAT, by the case size stated. Please double check that the desired case size does match what is being offered as wines are variously listed in threes, sixes, dozens, halves and larger formats.
DELIVERY - TIMING: This is a primeur offer so the wines are not yet physically available for delivery. They will be shipped to the UK over the next eighteen months. Generally wines are shipped to your nominated location once the whole order has landed in our London City Bond account. If you require wines to be delivered by a certain date, please advise us at the time of ordering.
DELIVERY - FEES: In bond delivery to an Elephant Storage account (for more information see 'Storage Options' opposite) is free of charge. Transfer of wines to any third party bond (i.e. not Elephant Storage) will incur an administration charge of £16.50 + VAT for all orders under £500. If you require wines duty paid, please indicate this in your Wishlist order form. A duty & VAT invoice will be raised once all the wines on your order are available for shipment. Once the relevant duty & VAT has been settled, we will ship the wines to your nominated address as per our normal duty paid Delivery Terms.
PAYMENT: All orders will be invoiced for immediate payment by cheque, cash, debit card or cleared funds to our account. We regret that we cannot accept credit cards for primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.