The 2022 Balthazar Cornas Sans Soufre Ajouté comes from young vines in La Lègre and Les Côtes. It is fermented entirely with whole clusters, aged in old 600-liter casks, and bottled unfined, unfiltered, and without any added SO₂. Recent editions of this cuvée have been especially beautiful—floral, lifted, and marked by cool, vivid fruit.
Franck Balthazar has farmed without synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers since 2010, still working several parcels by horse. Fermentations begin spontaneously with native yeasts, macerations run roughly two weeks with manual punchdowns, and the wines receive only a light fining before bottling. Since taking over his father’s Cornas estate in 2002, Balthazar has quietly elevated it into one of the Northern Rhône’s most admired domaines.
