KYSELA PERE ET FILS, LTD.

"The 2022 Cornas Cuvée Jana brings another level of density and depth, with serious blue fruits, roasted meats, liquid violets, and graphite-driven aromas and flavors. With full-bodied richness, it has a flawlessly balanced, elegant mouthfeel, incredible purity and precision, and a monster of a finish. This is legit awesomeness in wine. It's going to have an incredibly broad drink window, and I doubt (although you never know) that it will ever shut down. Enjoy bottles over the coming 20-30 years."

- Jeb Dunnuck (Importer Highlight: Fran Kysela ; July 2024), 99 pts

"Dark purple. Highly perfumed, oak-spiced black and blue fruits, incense, vanilla and potpourri on the hugely perfumed nose, along with hints of licorice, smoked meat and mocha. Stains the palate with concentrated, spice-laced blueberry, cassis, cherry-vanilla and espresso flavors that turn sweeter as the wine opens up. Broad, polished tannins add shape to a strikingly long, smoke- and spice-driven finish that strongly echoes the floral and blue fruit notes. - Josh Raynolds"

- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (December 2022), 97 pts

"A smaller production release, the 2020 Cornas Cuvée Jana is deep purple-hued and gives up a more reticent nose of black cherries and darker fruits supported by notes of scorched earth, graphite, and bloody meat. This rich, concentrated beauty has massive concentration, building yet ripe, velvety tannins, and a great, great finish. It's another heavenly Cornas from this estate that readers will absolutely love to have in their cellar."

 - Jeb Dunnuck (Northern Rhône: The 2020s and 2021s, December 15th 2022), 96+ pts

"The tiny production 2019 Cornas Cuvée Jana is another gorgeous wine. More up-front and opulent than either the 2018 or 2016, it has a mass of blueberry and black cherry-like fruits as well as smoked game, bouquet garni, ground pepper, and iron. It hits the palate with a lush, opulent attack and has a terrific mid-palate, before the tannins build and clamp down on the finish, showing more loamy earth and mineral notes. It certainly displays the richer, ripe style of the vintage and has moderate acidity, yet the purity of fruit is spot on, it's beautifully balanced, and it’s going to keep for 25+ years in cold cellars."

- Jeb Dunnuck (Northern Rhône: 2019s From Bottle, February 16th 2022), 98 pts

"Showing greater nuance and complexity on the nose, the 2019 Cornas Jana—named for Michel's daughter and sourced from Les Côtes and Chaillot—is a big step up from Michel's basic Cornas. Hints of violets, mint and crushed stone accent deep cassis and blueberry fruit, while the full-bodied palate is concentrated, rich and tannic, with a long, long, finish. Although not unenjoyable now, it's a Cornas for the cellar, with at least a decade of improvement possible. - Joe Czerwinski"

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (January 2022), 97 pts

"Bright and mouthwatering in black-cherry and plum flavors, this Syrah is sourced from the producer's selection of 20-year-old vines vinified in whole clusters. Full bodied but crisply balanced, it offsets plump, juicy black-fruit against sprays of crushed granite, bacon fat and salty, smoky mineral tones. The delicate tannins are seductive in youth but the wine should hold well beyond 2040. - Anna LEE C. IIJIMA"

- Wine Enthusiast (March 1st 2022), 95 pts

"There are two special cuvées from this estate. Looking first at the 2018 Cornas Cuvée Jana, it tastes like the essence of Cornas with its meaty, bloody aromas and flavors of scorched earth, ground pepper, rare steak, iron, cedar, and dark, almost blue fruits. Tight, tannic, and concentrated on the palate, this full-bodied effort packs incredible intensity and power yet stays lively, elegant, and weightless. It's a brilliant, brilliant Cornas, yet certainly not for those seeking instant gratification. It actually reminds me slightly of the incredibly age-worthy wines from Domaine Clape, and I suspect it will have a similar evolution. Hide bottles for 7-8 years and enjoy over the following two decades."
- Jeb Dunnuck (Northern Rhône: The 2018s and 2019s, November 19th 2020), 99 pts, #62 TOP 100

"This has great focus and freshness for the vintage - it’s juicy and concentrated with well-balanced acidity, a distinctly saline edge and a little touch of dark chocolate to the aroma - all ripe and flowing on the palate. A wine of great impact, though perhaps not as long as some other of his cuvées this year. A blend of two parcels, Chaillot and Les Côtes, selection massale planted in 2001, south and south-east facing. No destemming, matured in 2 and 3-year-old demi-muids for a year. - Matt WALLS"

- Decanter (Northern Rhone 2018 report, October 1st 2019), 95 pts

"Ripe black cherry and plum are perfumed by thrilling hits of fur, chocolate, smoke and bramble in this wine. Complex and moderately full bodied, it's irresistible for its inky, concentrated fruit. Fresh acidity and an earthen undertow lend balance. Beautiful already it should improve through 2037. - ANNA LEE C. IIJIMA"
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine (June/July 2020), 96 pts + Editor's Choice

"Coming from the granitic soils of the Chaillot lieu-dit and vines planted in 2000, the 2017 Cornas Cuvée Jana is the top cuvée and spent 12-14 months in second- and third-fill demi-muids. Its deep purple color is followed by a powerful, ripe, sexy Cornas that offers rocking notes of black fruits, scorched earth, burning ember, smoked game, and hints of tapenade. Complex, deep, and layered on the palate, yet beautifully balanced, it's a knockout bottle of wine that will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and knock your socks off over the following decade or more."
- Jeb Dunnuck (December 12th 2019), 95+ pts

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- Wine & Spirits Magazine (November 2019), 94 pts
YEAR'S BEST NORTHERN RHONE

Go To Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana

"Vivid purple. Highly perfumed, spice- and smoke-accented aromas of ripe dark berries, smoked meat, olive paste and candied violet, lent urgency by a minerally element. At once rich and lively in style, offering concentrated blackberry, blueberry and floral pastille flavors that turn sweeter as the wine opens up. Shows excellent clarity on an impressively long, clinging finish that features youthful, gripping tannins and an emphatic, smoky bacon flourish. All whole clusters. - Josh Raynolds"

- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (September 2019), 94 pts

Go To Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana

"Even better, and getting up in some rarified air, the 2016 Cornas Cuvée Jana is a special selection (it’s named after Johann and Emmanuelle’s daughter) from the Chaillot lieu-dit that’s not destemmed and is fermented and aged in 500-liter French oak (I believe mostly new). Thrilling notes of crème de cassis, smoked meats, rendered bacon fat, and crushed rocks all flow to a full-bodied Cornas that has thrilling purity of fruit, a multi-dimensional, seamless texture, and a finish that goes on for over a minute. This magical Cornas has the purity and balance to drink well even today, yet it will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and shine for 15-20 years. Bravo!"

- Jeb Dunnuck (March 27th 2019), 98 pts
#95 in the TOP100 Red Wines of 2019

Go To Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana

"Distinctive, featuring a gorgeous frame of loam and roasted alder around a core of macerated dark currant, plum and blackberry fruit, this nonetheless stays vibrant and racy, with a blaze of iron defining the finish, backed by a mouthwatering white pepper note. Youthfully tight, so let this unfurl in the cellar. Best from 2018 through 2029. From France.—J.M."

- Wine Spectator Insider (July 20th 2016), 95 pts

Go To Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana

"Similarly colored to the traditional cuvee, the 2014 Cornas Cuvée Jana has more purity and freshness, as well as mid-palate concentration. Giving up lots of black raspberry, smoked herbs, licorice, and garrigue/floral aromas and flavors, it’s medium to full-bodied, beautifully pure, elegant and classy. It should be one of the wines of the vintage."

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #222, December 2015), 91-94 pts

Go To Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana

"Red Dense and backward, with a sappy core of kirsch, bitter plum and blackberry preserve notes, wrapped in iron-coated grip for now. Shows lots of racy cut on the finish, presenting anise and bay ac- cents. This will need some time to unwind. Best from 2017 through 2025.—J.M."

- Wine Spectator (August 2015), 93 pts

Go To Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana

"A sensational effort from the young Johann Michel, the 2013 Cornas Cuvée Jana sports an inky purple/blue color to go with notes of crushed rocks, liquid violets, crème de cassis and dry, aged beef. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and seamless, it still packs a serious amount of fruit and depth. Drink this beauty anytime over the coming 10-12 years."

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #222, December 2015), 93 pts

Go To Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana

"Glass-staining ruby. A complex bouquet evokes ripe dark berries and floral pastilles, along with suggestions of licorice, woodsmoke and olive paste. Broad and fleshy in the mouth, offering juicy black and blue fruit and spicecake flavors supported by zesty acidity. Rich yet vibrant and precise, finishing gently sweet and long, with slow-building tannins. - Josh Raynolds"

- Vinous (March 2016), 92 pts

Go To Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana

"Bigger and richer (than the cuvée Tradition), with notions of barbecue, smoke, bloody meat, plum and licorice, the 2012 Cornas Jana packs a serious amount of fruit into its full-bodied, voluptuously textured profile, yet never seems cumbersome or over the top. Count me a fan and this knockout Cornas excels on all accounts. Unfortunately, there’s not much of it to go around. Grab a couple bottles if you can, and enjoy it over the coming 15-20 years. - JD"

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #210, December 2013), 93-95 pts

Go To Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana

"The 2011 Cornas Cuvee Jana is one of the top wines of the vintage. It offers notes of lead pencil shavings, pen ink and creme de cassis in its full-bodied, lusty, opulent personality. In contrast, the fabulous 2010 possesses even more tannin, power and concentration – as hard as that is to believe. These are both impressive vintages from this up-and-coming young Cornas producer."

Wine Advocate (Robert Parker, issue #204, December 2012), 92-94 pts

Go To Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana