Also impressive, the 2012 Cornas Village, which sees only 30% new oak, offers classic Cornas flare with cassis, black raspberry, barbecue sauce, licorice and chocolaty notes to go with medium to full-bodied richness on the palate. I love the overall purity here, and given the solid texture and polish to the tannin, I suspect it will be approachable on release. Yves releases two cuvees from Cornas, and I found the quality consistent in 2012, yet preferred the Vires release by a fair margin in 2011. There are three Saint Joseph cuvees in red: the Les Pierres Seches, which comes from sand and granite soils around the town of Chavanay; the L'Amarybelle, which comes from high density, terraced plantings of older vines; and lastly, the Les Serines, which comes from the oldest vines of the estate and is the only cuvee to see new oak. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant Ltd., Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990