Cult Wine From Cornas, Rhône: Invest In The Top Wines From Thiérry Allemand

Today, there is not a more unique personality or unique story from the Northern Rhône than the one of Thiérry Allemand - a man who himself has put an entire wine region on the world map and created a large and loyal fan base of discerning wine lovers, where the demand clearly exceeds the small quantities of Allemand wine.

The Legend From Cornas

If you look towards France, more specifically towards the famous Rhône Valley, just south of Lyon, you will find the smallest appellation in the whole Rhône. The name is Cornas, and if we turn back the time just 20-30 years, most non-local wine connoisseurs would hardly attach any particular value to the area. But one man, almost by himself, has changed that completely.

Thiérry Allemand started his wine adventure in Cornas in the early 1980s, without a family fortune to back him up and without good inherited land holdings to build his domain on. As a result, Allemand started from scratch, continually collecting small abandoned and overgrown parcels - some on steep slopes, some with old "wild" vines and others stocked with trees. Allemand was faced with an almost impossible task but managed through hard work and dedication to build his own domain from nothing into having just the land holdings he believed were ideal.

Allemand had no formal education or training in winemaking, but learned from two of the region's ancestors, Joseph Michel, and Noël Verset. Allemand soon began earning money working for Michel and Verset - money that, a few years after the start-up, was spent buying parcels at Les Chaillot, which was already considered one of the best vineyards in Cornas.

Allemand's good relationship with Verset was later rewarded, and as Verset had no heirs, Allemand was allowed to acquire another of the best vineyards in the Northern Rhône - namely Reynard.

With over 30 years of personal experience, Thiérry Allemand has put the whole of Cornas on the world map and created some exceptional wines that have created a fan base of discerning wine connoisseurs, similar in many ways to the relationship between the cult Champagne of Selosse and its fans.

If you are looking for a cult star in the northern Rhône, Allemand is the closest you will get.

Reynard And Les Chaillots

In 1987, Allemand began selling wine to a negociant, which continued up to 1991, when the negociant refused to pay more than the 32 francs per litre (about €5) that Allemand demanded for the wine from Chaillots and Reynard. From that point on, Allemand handled sales himself.

Much has happened since then, and today, Allemands Chaillot and Reynard stand as two of the most beloved wines from the Rhône region, along with, for example, the wines of Domaine Jamet or Jean Louis Chave, if it just cannot be too great and exclusive.

At Chaillot, the vines are less than 40 years old, while at Reynard, they are more than 40 years old. All parcels are worked with hard manual labour, as a machine has difficulty working on the steep slopes, on which the vineyards are situated. The only grape allowed in the area is Syrah, which is also the one that 50-year-old Thierry Allemand works with. All the vineyards are managed with great respect for nature, and in the cellar, there is minimal impact on the must and almost no addition of sulphites. This results in some of the healthiest and longest lasting wines produced in the Northern Rhône.

Allemand produces in approx. 500 cases each of Chaillot and Reynard, which equates to just about 6,000 bottles per wine. By its very nature, this is an extremely limited quantity for the large and loyal fan base that Allemand has built up in almost record time.

Increasing Popularity Is Reflected In Increasing Prices

Although all the major critics have not yet taken fully focus on Allemand, the world's wine lovers have, if the price increases of his two top wines are an indication. Much has happened since the negociant in 1991 would not pay € 5 for a litre of Allemand's sublime wine, but the trend appears to have accelerated in recent years.

For example, according to wine-searcher.com, the price of Allemands Reynard, across all listed vintages, has increased by 34% over the past three years. That is an average annual price increase of more than 10%.

Chaillot has so far been slightly more popular, and the price here has risen by 52% over the same period, according to wine-searcher.com, which is an average annual increase of 15%.

Rarewine Invest’s Opinion

Thiérry Allemand is a true icon, who has shaped the perception of an entire wine region and built his domain from scratch to become world famous in the wine world.

Thiérry Allemand's two coveted top wines, Chaillot and Reynard, are particularly famous among a discerning fan base of wine lovers, and this love seems to spread to the general wine world. Prices have certainly been increasing steadily since the first vintage (1989), and price increases over the last three years of 34-52% indicate increased interest and demand.

If you are a Rhône lover, Allemand is a must in your investment portfolio, while the top wines from the Rhône can also serve as a good ballast in the portfolio, as a counterweight to some of the more classic categories among investment wines.

We believe in the increasing interest in the great wines outside the largest regions will continue, and if it does, Thiérry Allemand's Cornas Chaillot and Cornas Reynard are the right choice for an investment portfolio.