Very fresh wild blackberry, dry forest floor and wild herb aromas. Considering this was 100% whole-cluster fermented, the tannins are restrained, gently building at the long, moderately dry finish. Plenty of pepper and wild herb character in the finish. Should age well. Drink from release.
94 points, Stuart Pigott, James Suckling (Apr 2024)
The 2022 Cuvée Casimir Balthazar from Franck Balthazar is a beautiful old school Cornas, coming in at a very civilized thirteen percent octane. The wine is barrel-fermented and aged in older casks. The 2022 version is pure and vibrant on the nose, hopping from the glass in a blaze of black raspberries, cassis, pepper, black olive, roasted venison, stony dark soils, woodsmoke and a nice touch of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and precise, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent mineral undertow, tangy acids, buried, chewy tannins and a long, youthfully complex and beautifully balanced finish. This has the heightened acidity of a drought year wine and is going to take its sweet time coming to full maturity, but it is going to be an excellent bottle of Cornas once it is ready to drink.
93+ points, John Gilman, View From The Cellar (Oct 2025)
Crafted from old vines rooted in clay soils—two-thirds at the foot of the slope and one-third mid-slope—the 2022 Cornas Cuvée Casimir Balthazar unfurls from the glass with a delicately reduced bouquet of dark cherries, spices, pepper and flowers. Medium to full-bodied, layered and textured, it's elegantly juicy with good depth at the core, structured, youthful tannins and a long, spicy finish. Currently introverted due to the presence of reduction, it requires time to integrate its élevage and fully adjust to its recent bottling. This is an impressive effort.
93 points, Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate (Mar 2025)
The 2022 Cornas Cuvée Casimir Balthazar is a savory beast. Full-bodied, tannic and concentrated, it bundles radiant black fruits, cedar, graphite and cured meat aromatics. Doubling down with afterglow on the savory finale, the 2022 demands at least three more years in a cool cellar.
92 points, Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous (Jan 2025)
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