2022 Domaine Durand Empreintes Cornas 750 ml

There is no imposing château at Domaine Durand. No reception desk and no PR staff. In fact, we tracked down the Durand frères in the town of Châteaubourg (pop. ~215) by spotting their worn shingle hanging in a narrow alleyway. 

We ducked our heads and stepped into the tiny subterranean tasting room, where Éric and Joël Durand greeted us with baguettes and a big plate of charcuterie and cheese. Judging by the personal welcome and the unadorned room, you could easily take Domaine Durand for a humble, provincial winemaking operation.

Until you taste the wine. Because Éric and Joël are making top-flight reds that stand not only with the best of Cornas, but also of their world-famous neighbor Hermitage. 

Like Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage—the other two AOCs that define European Syrah—Cornas is a big name with tiny production. Jancis Robinson once wrote “A top Cornas…offers all the intensity of and power of a great Hermitage, but at a fraction of the price of its more ‘noble’ neighbour.” Ask any sommelier: Cornas should be on the radar of any value-minded collector.

Eric and Joël Durand own just under ten hectares in Cornas. They took over the family estate in 1991, and the precision and care with which they farm these vines—staked individually on near-unworkable hillsides—shows in the Empreintes. The 2022 is bold and brooding, with an inky purple color, a dense nose, and a powerful and precise palate layered with sinewy tannins. 

This is another bottle that cements the Durands among the best of the Northern Rhône. We encourage every lover of red wines to try it.