What’s in a name? In the world of wine, sometimes too much. But in this case, it was the name “Verset” — a very special name, indeed, when it comes to Cornas — that led us to the gems that we are offering today.

Names are, of course, useful for seeing genealogical connections, so let’s explain that: Emmanuelle Verset is the daughter of Alain Verset, whose father, Louis, was Noël's brother. That makes Emmanuelle the grand-niece of Noël Verset. Noël Verset, of course, is the genius Cornas producer who put the AOC on the map.

Noël Verset stopped making wine in 2006, and Emmanuelle has actually inherited some of his vines, the Champelrose vineyard. She has also inherited his dedication to precise wine-making, respect for terroir and a love of tradition. These qualities, when combined with top vineyard sites and older vines, can produce extraordinary wines.

Emmanuelle’s winery is called “A&E Verset” because she shares it with her father, who used to make the wines. When Alain retired and Emmanuelle took over, the wines got a lot better. She converted the vines to organic cultivation, and built a whole new winery with things that seem commonplace today like temperature control and a pneumatic press, but which did not exist under Alain’s watch.

A&E Verset possesses not only vines inherited from Noël Verset, but also from Alain's father, Louis (Noël’s brother). This includes 100+ year-old parcels in Geynale and Les Mazards! Emmanuelle now has in her hands what is surely one of the best collections of Cornas terroirs out there.

Our first offering of these wines — sent only to our dedicated Northern Rhône customers — featured the 2020s. Now we have the 2021s, a fresh vintage yielding lifted wines that are delicious now and will also age beautifully. Quantities are just enough this year that we decided to offer them to this wider audience.

Anyone who loves traditional Northern Rhônes, or astonishingly pure Syrah, will appreciate these wines. Pricing is still very attractive. We think that this is one of those opportunities to get in on the ground floor.

A&E Verset, Cornas, 2021 $62.99