Robertparker.com af Jeb Dunnuck
"Seeing the most new oak of the lineup and spending upwards of 18 months in 100% new French oak, the 2011 Cornas La Sabarotte is also the richest, most decadent, and concentrated of the three single vineyards. Exhibiting terrific aromas and flavors of black raspberry, licorice, roasted meats, barbecue and forest floor, this full-bodied 2011 has a blockbuster texture, no hard edges and ample underlying structure that’s partially concealed by all of the fruit. It will have an easy 12-15 years of longevity and should not be missed!
This was a stacked lineup from this top-notch estate, and I was able to taste through the lineup multiple times, once while visiting the domaine, and again in a larger lineup of wines from each appellation. They never failed to impress. Located in the tiny town of Chateaubourg and covering roughly 50 acres in Saint-Joseph and 20 in Cornas, most of which are ideally situated, Courbis is now run by Laurent and Dominique Courbis, with Laurent running the cellar and Dominique managing the vineyards. Despite the high quality, these wines remain reasonably priced, and also see good distribution in the US. It’s an estate that needs to be on every Northern Rhone lover’s short list." 94 Point
Wine Spectator
"A pleasantly saturated version, with pastis, loganberry, blueberry coulis, black currant, anise and alder notes woven together. The fleshy finish shows excellent drive, with a buried yet strong charcoal spine." Score 93
Om Domaine Courbis
Domænet kan spores tilbage til det 16. århundrede og i 1990 overtog brødrene Laurent og Dominique huset. Forretningsgangene blev herefter lagt om og en ny ønolog blev ansat, fadene blev udskiftet og udbyttet sænket. Kvaliteten steg markant og resultatet er, at de fleste er enige om, at Domaine Courbis er den førende Cornas producent.
Courbis har 26 ha vinmarker, fordelt på fem ha i Cornas, 5 ha i Saint-Joseph (hvid), 15 ha i Saint-Joseph (rød) og 1 ha Vin de Pays de l’Ardeche, og man er kendt for at lave kvalitetsvine uden tilsætning, hverken syre eller alt mulig andet gøjl. Hvis der havde stået Hermitage på etiketten, ville vinene ikke være til at komme til for penge. Som kendetegn er vinene blæksorte med masser af fyldig karakter og læssevis af moden, sund frugt.