Starting out with the 2012s, which are some of the strongest in the vintage, the 2012 Cornas Les Eygats is a classic Cornas that exhibits knockout aromas and flavors of smoked meat, barbecue sauce, violets, sweet cassis and a hint of dusty pebble. A blend of 100% Syrah (all Cornas will be all Syrah) and aged 16-18 months in 50% new French oak, this medium to full-bodied, pure, fresh and focused effort will benefit from short-term cellaring and have 15 years or more of prime drinking. This was a stacked lineup from this top-notch estate, and I was able to taste through the lineup multiple times, once while visiting the domaine, and again in a larger lineup of wines from each appellation. They never failed to impress. Located in the tiny town of Chateaubourg and covering roughly 50 acres in Saint-Joseph and 20 in Cornas, most of which are ideally situated, Courbis is now run by Laurent and Dominique Courbis, with Laurent running the cellar and Dominique managing the vineyards. Despite the high quality, these wines remain reasonably priced, and also see good distribution in the US. It’s an estate that needs to be on every Northern Rhone lover’s short list. Importer: Russell Herman, Berkeley Heights, NJ; tel. (908) 771-9082