He retired in 2006 and died almost 10 years later, but it is still impossible to avoid his name when talking about his region. He made wines in the village for 75 years! He made... Read More

He retired in 2006 and died almost 10 years later, but it is still impossible to avoid his name when talking about his region. He made wines in the village for 75 years! He made them in a traditional, old-fashioned style that was thoroughly out-of-fashion in the 1990s, but that was coming back into vogue just as he was starting to wind down in the 2000s. He made Cornas from a blend of vineyard sites, worked with whole clusters and aged wines only in large casks. His wines had volatility and bacterial notes that his admirers called “soulfulness”. With air, the wines seemed to clean up magically and become pure and wonderful expressions of terroir-specific Northern Rhone Syrah. There is a reason this guy became a legend.