The vineyards of the Northern Rhône Valley are amongst France’s oldest ones, planted to the vine since before Roman times. Here the river valley is narrow and the vineyards are located on its steep banks of granite and schist soil. The red wines come from a single variety, Syrah, synonymous with Côte Rôtie, Hermitage red, Cornas etc. The whites are made from mostly Marsanne; Viognier is used to make Condrieu and Château-Grillet. Both reds and whites from the Northern Rhône Valley are considered some of world’s best wines, not always well known by the general public, but highly sought after by connoisseurs, fine-dinning restaurants and other sommeliers.

Our ABC wine team has visited the Rhône Valley on numerous occasions the most recent of which in June 2011 gave us the opportunity to visit several wine estates including the Durand winery in Cornas. The village of Cornas gave its name to the small appellation of 230 acres of steep slopes of granite soil planted solely to the Syrah.

The two brothers, Eric and Joël Durand run this family estate, crafting some of the regions best wines from the appellations of Cornas and Saint Joseph. The Durands make 3 different cuvees of Cornas; the largest production is called “Les Empreintes” of which the 2009 vintage received a commanding 93-96 points from Robert Parker. A must taste is the 2007 Les Empreintes, currently available at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. 2007 was one of the area’s best vintages in recent history and is one of my all-time favorite Syrahs. The wine exhibits dark ruby color, round, generous and powerful with silky tannins and gobs of black fruit on the long-lasting finish. The Wine Spectator rated this wine 92 points. I am currently enjoying the last few bottles of Les Empreintes 2006, showing its best 5 years after harvest.

Atanas Nechkov, Central Florida Wine Supervisor