FRANCK BALTHAZAR
Cornas
Casimir Balthazar founded the Balthazar estate in 1931. The next generation, René, took over in 1950. René Balthazar started the move into Domaine bottling in the 1970s, at the same time as his contemporaries Auguste Clape and Noël Verset, while continuing to sell most of his wine in cask to the local cafés. Today his son, Franck, bottles the totality of the production. Franck left his engineering career to take over his dad's work in the steep granite slopes of Cornas in 2002.
The domaine’s vineyards are planted exclusively to Sérine, the ancient local clone whose small, olive-shaped berries produce a wine of greater aromatic complexity than modern clones.
Another key to the superb quality and character of Balthazar’s Cornas is the domaine’s great holdings. These include not only half-century-old vines in Mazards but also a 1914 planting of Sérine in the revered Chaillot vineyard. Franck Balthazar is also slowly expanding the amount of land under vine; a true son of Cornas, Franck has created terraces and planted vines on previously overgrown land on the steep Légre slope above Sabarotte.
Textbook Cornas, the wines of Franck Balthazar are wines of stunning depth, concentration, and complexity.
In the Vineyard
In the vineyard, Franck honors tradition that his grandfather, Casimir, would recognize. The guiding principles here are the pursuit of excellence and the true expression of the terroir.
Always pushing forward, Franck converted to fully organic viticulture in 2010 and got the certification 3 years later.
In the Cellar
Made by methods little changed from those of his predecessors Franck’s wines are some of the most expressive, and rigorously traditional, wines in Cornas.
Vinification takes place in a small cellar behind Cornas village church. Working on whole clusters, a long and soft maceration of 13 to 14 days takes place before the fermentation with native yeast in concrete vats. The wine is then aged in old, neutral demi-muid barrels before being bottled without fining or filtration.
All winemaking techniques at this address are as natural as possible.
Cornas
Chaillot
The Cornas Chaillot is the flagship bottling of this address. It is made with the fruit of century-old Sérine from the revered Chaillot vineyard – a parcel acquired from Noël Verset. A small portion of 50-year-old vines from his Mazards parcel is also included.
Cornas
Cuvée Casimir
Named in honor of Franck’s grandfather this Cornas is made of Sérine from vines of two parcels: the old vines in Les Mazards and younger plantings in Légre.
Cornas
Sans Soufre Ajouté
This tiny cuvee, with no added sulfur, is produced from young vines in Légre above Sabarotte.
Côtes-du-Rhône
The Côtes-du-Rhône is a non-estate bottling but Franck manages the organic vineyard near Vinsobres. It is composed of 75% Syrah and 25% Grenache.
Vin de France
This cuvee is made of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache sourced from the area around Séguret, about 80km south of Cornas.
