A SUPERB VALUE FOR CABERNET FRANC LOVERS

93+ JG.

As I noted last year, when reviewing the 2010 Cornuelles, Monsieur Plouzeau has a fine parcel of fifty year-old vines in this excellent terroir and the wine is aged in four and five year-old, 450 liter barrels. The 2012 Cornuelles is a lovely follow-up to the 2010, offering up a fine and quite youthful bouquet of dark berries, gravelly soil tones, cigar ash, a touch of tree bark, gentle meaty tones, espresso and a topnote of fresh herbs. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, nicely structured and quite soil-driven in personality, with a lovely core, moderate, ripe tannins and excellent length and grip on the focused and very promising finish. This is a very good example of how the low yields of 2012 have not adversely affected the overall quality of the wines, just the quantity, and this may well outpace the fine 2010 Cornuelles from Marc Plouzeau in the years to come! Fine, fine juice. John Gilman, View From the Cellar, Sep/Oct 2014, Issue #53