Whoopsies! Hate to say it, but told ya so, that sweet Belle sold out swiftly.

But we lined up one more for the day, a palate-drenching, “powerfully concentrated”, 96 POINT Cornas nonetheless! For under $40! This drinks like something way, WAY pricier. Do descriptions like “luscious…powerfully concentrated…rich and densely fruited” get your heart rate going?

A husband-and-wife team, Helene and Jean-Pierre Mucyn learned the ropes and got their winemaking degrees in Burgundy, which is evidently in the glass here. Cornas can get a bit rustic, but this example is a seamless, forward beauty that may as well be from Côte-Rôtie.

One of our favorite critics and writers, Eric Asimov of The New York Times writes “I will confess, if you couldn’t already tell, that I love the wines of Cornas… the region is a treasure, and the wines taste as if they could come from nowhere else. As the southernmost red-wine region of the Northern Rhône, Cornas offers the rare combination of northern Rhône finesse combined with Southern sun. The result are soulful, expressive… Yet these are not rustic wines. It’s been repeated a little too often that Cornas is the country bumpkin to the more sophisticated wines of Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie. Perhaps this was true once, but today the level of quality is high.”

High, as in 96 Points, Editors’ Choice high, in this case, dear Operatives. It’s in the Top-10 highest rated by Wine Enthusiast and by far the best value.

There’s even less of this one so don’t say we did not warn y’all again.

96 Points, Editors’ Choice – Wine Enthusiast

“Luscious cassis and black-fig flavors drench the palate of this powerfully concentrated yet thoroughly finessed Cornas. Rich and densely fruity, it is lifted in perfume, wafting of fresh lilac, licorice and crushed stone. While stunning in its youth, the wine’s firm, fiery tannins will meld and the heady bouquet should gain depth well through 2037.”