A Young Northern Rhone Winemaker Forging Her Own Path Inspired by her Awesome Legacy
The Verset name dates back 6 generations in Cornas, and it was Emmanuelle Verset’s great uncle, Noel Verset, that put the region on the map, making some of the most sought after Syrahs in France.
Randy Kemner visited Noel Verset in 1992 and had this recollection:
The diminutive 78 year old winemaker with a high voice met our seven-person Kermit Lynch tour from the door of his small apartment near the crossroads of Cornas. He led us across an alley to a large garage door which he slid open revealing a long dark cave lined on one side by a series of large, ancient dark oval casks resting above a dirt floor that disappeared into the darkness.
“How old are these casks?” someone in the group asked.
“I think my grandfather bought one once,” Verset replied.
To give you some perspective, Noel's father took over the winemaking at the domaine in 1903.
It is important to understand that before Americans became Parker devotees (thus raising the demand and prices for their bottles) vignerons like Verset couldn’t make a living just by selling wine alone. To supplement his income, Verset worked unpacking railroad cars in the evening while he tended his vines during the day.
Success came only after Noel Verset’s Cornas wines, produced in the 800 case annual production range, had been singled out by Robert Parker as a leader of the appellation along with August Clape and Thierry Allemand in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The secrets to all of their successes were outstanding hillside Syrah vines in their individual estate vineyards.
Verset, a bachelor, had no children when he made his last vintage in 2000. After that, he only made wine for family and friends until he died in 2006 after 63 vintages at the age of 92. He had been the first vigneron in Cornas to bottle his own wine rather than sell it to negociants.
Over the last years of his life he sold his prized parcels to each of his friends, Clape, Allemand and Laurent Courbis, with a parcel going to his nephew Franck Balthazar and another parcel later acquired in 2015 by another nephew, Alain Verset who also owned vineyards inherited from his father, Noel's brother and Emmanuelle's grandfather Louis.
Alain’s daughter Emmanuelle Verset made up her mind in high school that she wanted to be a winemaker for her family estate in France’s Northern Rhone. She was a quick study and took over winemaking in 2016 at the very young age of 24. Emmanuelle, like many younger winemakers, could see that a warming climate was changing the way they needed to make wine, and she quickly began making decisions to accommodate those changes. She also let the vintage dictate how the wines are made rather than follow some formula, giving her the freedom to make the wines she wants.
We were fortunate to be able to acquire a tiny amount of wine from this gifted young vigneron, now imported by Beaune Imports, and we proudly offer them to you while supplies last.
2023 A & E Verset Saint-Peray $35.99 per bottle (only 5 bottles remaining)
At the southern end of the Northern Rhone, the small white wine appellation of Saint-Peray (only 180 acres in the entire growing region) is known for its dry, moderately viscous wines and a smattering of sparklers made primarily from Marsanne and sometimes a bit of Roussanne. Saint-Peray is such a tiny appellation that we rarely see any here, so it’s not shocking that we were only able to get 6 bottles. Made from naturally farmed Marsanne grown in limestone and clay soils. The nose here leans way more to the savory end of things. There’s a quince suggestion, warm spicing and a touch of brine on the nose. In the mouth the wine is nicely round, good curves and weight, and again here, the wine reads a little savory with brine, tons of minerals and then a kick of that quince or not quite ripe pear. Nerdy wine for sure and something I would like to have with a simply cooked river fish or glugged into, and sipped with, a pot of steaming, brothy, garlicky clams. Now I am hungry. Only 5 bottles left at the time of writing.
2023 A & E Verset Syrah $27.99 per bottle (only 3 bottles remaining)
Made from young vines in and around Cornas, this savory Syrah is everything you love about Northern Rhone Syrah. Pure blue fruit, violets, smoke and cracked pepper. Plenty of flavor, but not at all heavy or staining on the palate. There is a freshness that leaves the palate feeling bright and seeking something to nibble.
2022 A & E Verset Cornas $57.99 per bottle $123.99 per magnum (only 3 mags allocated)
This hand-produced Syrah from Cornas is still quite young, (decanting should be considered) but is showing deep purple flowering violets, wild earthy notes, hints of dried, cured black olives, underripe blackberries and citrus oil. Good grip in the mouth this is a wine that desperately wants some fatty morsal to land upon. Very limited.
2022 A & E Verset Cornas “Signature Verset” $87.99 per bottle (only 5 bottles remaining)
This aromatic stunner comes from a couple vineyards but the bulk of it is from La Geynale, a vineyard that has Syrah vines that are over a century old. Complexity and intrigue were some of the first descriptors I wrote when I was presented with this wine. Deeply fruited, like boysenberries and herbs with a mix of creamy oak and salt-cured black olives along with a tinge of smoked pork. Dense in terms of saturation but still rather lively and graceful on its feet. I could easily just sip away on this brooding wine but when I think of roasted lamb, grilled meats, something richly stewed with olives, herbs and tomatoes? Oh man, what a delight. Will hold up for years in the cellar but generous enough now that with a little decanting it will be giving up some glorious flavor.