Red Wine from Northern Rhone

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: Just a small step back from the Les Bessards, the 2012 Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes is a stunning effort that exhibits blockbuster notes of toasted spice, leather, peppery herbs and sweet black and blue fruit. Seeing...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points: Paris’s entry-level cuvee that comes from some of the lower slopes, the inky colored 2012 Cornas Granite 30 is a great bottle of wine that’s been an incredible value in the past couple of vintages. Classic Cornas, yet...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points: Just a step behind the Sainte Epine, the 2012 St Joseph Cuvee Francois de Tournon exhibits classic black raspberry, cassis, spiced meats and hints of licorice in its ripe, supple and beautifully pure profile. Aged 16...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 100 points: Sharing some similarities to the le Meal (yet its from a very different terroir), with its full-bodied, decadent, heavenly profile that somehow stays pure, poised and elegant, the 2012 Ermitage le Pavillon (767 cases)...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points: Looking at the 2012 Cornas releases, the 2012 Cornas les Chailles (100% Syrah from the Les Chailles lieu-dit, aged in 2- to 5-year-old white-wine barrels) is stunning stuff that could rival the 2010 and 2011 in another...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: Getting a big "Wow" in the notes, the 2012 Cote Rotie la Landonne offers additional richness, concentration and depth, with notes of lots of floral and violet notes intermixed with cassis, cruhsed rock and pepper...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: A blockbuster Saint Joseph that’s up there with the crème de la crème of the appellation, the 2012 Saint Joseph Sainte Epine offers awesome notes of crème de cassis, toasted spice, licorice and vanilla bean. Slightly...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: A smaller production release that comes from three separate parcels and 100-year-old vines, the 2012 Cornas Vin Noir is aged all in older barrels. Inky purple/black in color, it exhibits awesome notes of cassis, burning...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 97 points: The star of the show is the 2012 Hermitage Les Bessards. Coming from the pure granite soils of the Les Bessards lieu-dit, on the western edge of the appellation, it’s made from 100% Syrah and spent 16 months in 70% new...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: (WA96-98 points) Possessing slightly more purity (but maybe not the complexity) than the 2011, the 2012 Cote Rotie la Mouline offers a heavenly perfume of cured meats, pecking duck, violets and cassis. This flows to a...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 97 points: I think the best wine here (at the moment anyways) is the 2012 Cote Rotie Cote Blonde. More reserved and closed initially, it has subtle, yet seductive notes of black raspberry, blackberry, toasted spice, smoke earth and...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: Coming from a small three-hectare plot of granite soils in the northern part of the appellation (which is the prime terroir), the blockbuster 2012 Crozes Hermitage Domaine Raymond Roure exhibits incredible minerality in...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 97 points: Lastly, and released only in magnum, the 2012 Cornas Gore is off the charts, and one of the top-rated Cornas in this report. A single-vineyard release that comes from the granite soils known as gore, its inky purple/black...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 97 points: While I loved Michel's 2012 Cote Rotie la Mordoree from barrel, it blew me away from bottle, and I think bares more than a passing resemblance to his 1991. About as elegant and seamless as they come, it exhibits...

Antonio Galloni's Vinous, 92 points: Vivid ruby. Highly aromatic cherry and red berry scents are complicated by licorice, Indian spices and cola. Deeply concentrated dark fruit flavors show a suave blend of sweet and tangy, with a mineral nuance adding lift...