These wines are very limited and are offered on a
pre-arrival-only basis.
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Franck Balthazar

Cornas, Rhône Valley

The Balthazar family domaine was established in 1931 by Franck’s grandfather, Casimir Balthazar, when he purchased 1.2 hectares of vineyard in the area. The small familial domaine was continued by Franck’s father René from the 1950’s until Franck took it over in 2002.

At 1.2 hectares the domaine was always a small concern for the family until Franck left his engineering career to focus on the family vineyards. Since then he has bought, acquired and planted additional small parcels and today the domaine sits at 3.5 hectares. Today the holdings include 2 hectares of the hallowed Chaillot; 1.5ha of 50+ year old vines from his father on the steep granite slopes and 0.5ha of 100+ year old Petit Syrah inherited from his uncle, the revered Noel Verset, of the northern shoulder of Chaillot. There is also 0.4ha of les Muzards from 1959 and 1961 plantings and now some young vines established in the early-mid 2000’s on the Légre slope above Sabarotte.

There was never any question for Franck as to the direction for the domaine. He has followed in the traditional footsteps of his uncle and father, and he cites Clape, Juge and Allemand as influences for his farming of the vines. Today Franck is regarded as one of the few producers whose traditional roots remain deeply planted in the practices of the great old timers. Since 2006 he has only used sulphur in his vineyards and was certified organic in 2013. The steepest slopes are worked by hand and others with the help of a horse.

In the cellar the traditional ethos is maintained with the use of 100% whole bunches and foot treading, natural yeast from the vineyard, cement tanks, hand plunging, extended maceration, and aging without sulphur in older 600 litre demi-muids for 18 months (his cellar is too small for foudres!). The wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined with a minimal dose of sulphur, or zero sulphur in the case of the cuvée Sans Soufre.

The combination of old vines and traditional vineyard and cellar practices make these wines a beacon for lovers of traditional Cornas that is unmistakable as the finest expression of Syrah from granitic based soils in all the world. Dense chewy purple and black fruits, compact and suave tannins, and a strikingly fresh mineral acid vein. The wines are very much in the same mould as the great masters of Cornas, present and past, albeit with the horse in the vineyard, not the cellar. Franck is now recognised as one of the greats of Cornas and the last decade of wines have been breath taking. Production remains miniscule at around 750 dozen. Sadly since 2015 yields have been miniscule and we have only been able to secure 24 bottles of each cuvée in 2019, when yields were a paltry 19 hectolitres/hectare.