Maison Les Alexandrins, a signature modern in approach and contemporary in style.
Benefiting from its remarkable high-altitude location where it enjoys a cooler climate and the sun's heat, this Cornas is a powerful wine with elegant notes of black fruit.
Benefiting from its remarkable high-altitude location where it enjoys a cooler climate and the sun's heat, this Cornas is a powerful wine with elegant notes of black fruit.
Presentation
Description
A partnership between two winegrowers from the Rhône Valley – Nicolas Jaboulet and Alexandre Caso – Maison les Alexandrins produces northern wines in a style at once contemporary and timeless, always from exceptional vineyards unearthed by Alexandre Caso, a specialist in the terroirs of the northern Rhône Valley. Classics with a twist, these wines and how they are aged and blended are guided by the quest for perfect harmony from a very young age. Most of the wine comes from the locality of Les Eygats.
Terroir
Located at over 250 metres altitude on terraces containing decomposed granite, the vineyard enjoys a pleasant south/south-east exposure.
The vintage
Marked by contrasting climatic conditions, the 2025 vintage was a demanding, yet a promising year. After flowering under intense sunshine, a hailstorm at the end of June, and then a scorching August, the vines demonstrated remarkable resilience. While yields remained modest, the quality of the grapes concentrated, perfectly healthy, and exemplarily ripe promises great wines. The Roussanne and Marsanne, particularly early, opened the white harvest before the later-ripening Viognier, offering a nice spread out harvest. Syrah reached a uniform maturity across all appellations, requiring a quick and precise harvest. In the cellar, the reds revealed very healthy grapes and concentrated musts, favoring gentle vatting and giving rise to wines with a deep color, fine tannins, and delicious aromas. The whites, in excellent sanitary health, are distinguished by their acidic balance, their well-integrated structure and their beautiful aromas typical of northern grape varieties. Both whites and reds require careful aging to express all the complexity of a mature, harmonious vintage that promises very good aging. Like other years ending with the number 5, 2025 could well be among the very great vintages.
Location
An Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée in the northern Rhône Valley since 1938, the vineyard lies on the right bank of the Rhône, on the eastern side of the Massif Central in the village of Cornas. The steep slopes facing east and south-east form a natural amphitheatre, shielding the vines from cold winds. Here the full strength of Syrah, the appellation’s sole grape variety, is expressed. The Cornas vineyard is ancient, dating back to Roman times. Romans are said to be responsible for the terraced structure and the first chaillées (dry stone walls). The first written evidence of vineyards in the area dates back to the 10th century, when the Canon of Viviers mentioned that the church in Cornas was “surrounded by vines”. A document from 1763 also speaks about the “powerful wine” produced in the village.
Process
- Pre-fermentation cold maceration to develop the fruit.
- Maceration and fermentation for about 20 days with pumping over for the first few days and then punching down towards the end.
- Ageing in barrels of one and two wines for 15 months.
- Maceration and fermentation for about 20 days with pumping over for the first few days and then punching down towards the end.
- Ageing in barrels of one and two wines for 15 months.
Varietal
Syrah
