TN: Case of the Clape

Notes arranged in descending order of preference.

• 2001 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  From magnum. This is the first bottle where we picked up some serial feral things going on. It’s got that wild, animal thing going on in front of a backdrop of sweet black fruit. This feels far more primary, though there are definitely some nice matured elements here. Lots of syrah spice as well. The palate’s got much of the same – that wild thing and ripe black fruit, but the tannins feel less resolved than the 2004 (though that may well be the bottle size). Showing brilliantly, this probably edged out the 2010 as my wine of the night because of the extra maturity. I think in the long run the 2010 will probably be the better wine though. (93 pts.)
• 2010 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  This was a close contender for wine of the night, but I think the maturity on the 2001 magnum gave it the upper hand. This is a Cornas that really fits the mold of what I want though; the fruit and structure here are in excellent balance, and there’s plenty of both. Unlike the somewhat brutish 2009, the acidity here gives this far more elegance and liveliness, while there’s still ample power from the large amount of fruit here. It’s less black than the 2009 as well, and I can see a few analogues with the 2016 here. If the 2016 can put on some weight with bottle age, I think they could be similar wines. I hate to jump on the Robert Parker bandwagon, but this is one of the two times of day that the broken clock is right. (93 pts.)
• 2004 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  One of the favourites tonight. I’ve loved where the 2004s have been in the last few years, and this bottle is no exception. The nose here is resolved, with a nice balance of primary fruit and some maturing characteristics. The most prominent attribute here is the silkiness – it’s a wine with the tannins so perfectly resolved and in balance with the structure. On the lighter side for sure, but absolutely fantastic to drink now. (93 pts.)
• 2016 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  Pretty much a mostly-finished barrel sample. Stunning juice – way better than the 2015 from last year (that was black fruit and clenched up) – this is red-fruited, mineral, and acid-driven. It’s stunning how well this is drinking now, and there’s this youthful deliciousness that is just so compelling. If you have a few of these around, I’d strongly suggest popping one of these now before it shuts down; there’s just something so enjoyable about tasting what will undoubtedly be a killer wine in its youth. (93 pts.)
• 1996 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  This was a fully mature bottle of Clape, and next to the 1997, this showed more of a riper, fleshier character. The nose was incredibly aromatic, though there was still a fair bit of fruit here. A mild hint of smoke and a little earthy, with only a very mild bit of feral funk. For me, the palate had a good breadth, and while this is probably nearing the end of the maturity plateau, there’s probably still a few good years of life left on this. I would still rather drink this sooner than later. (93 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  This shares a bit of character with the 2001 (magnum), in its black fruit and sauvage character. There’s an exotic, spicy thing with the nose here as well, but overall this wine just doesn’t seem as compelling. It seems like this is just dialled down a little bit, and it may well be that this hasn’t yet fully emerged from the initial shut-down phase (is that a thing?). Compared to the 2007 which was in the same flight, I found this more structure and at least for now, more complex. (93 pts.)
• 2009 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  I don’t get the hype on this wine. It’s “just” a massive, ripe, and sweet Cornas, loaded with fruit. Like the 2007, the acidity is a little diminished, and while there’s a huge tannic structure hidden behind all that flesh, there’s nothing that I find particularly subtle here. It’s a little too in-your-face, and the ripeness seems to have caused some of the nicer nuances of syrah to fade off. Certainly there’s the material here for some long-term aging and this is one of the bottles I’m most curious about with more age. (93 pts.)
• 2007 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  It’s been a long while since I’ve tasted this wine and this showed far more primary and juicy and fruity than I would have expected. It’s a surprisingly simple wine now, in that this is really all about the fruit. With the 2009 (which is more intense than this), these were the two fruit bomb wines. There’s a hint of pepper here but there isn’t too much nuance overall. The acidity and overall structure are more attenuated than I would expect; this is a wine with almost too much give. (93 pts.)
• 1997 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  This was served next to the 1996, which was to me an all-round better wine, and in a better part of the drinking window. This bottle, while sound, was clearly starting to get long in the tooth. The palate and nose seemed a little more light, and the dirty elements seemed to be a little more pronounced here. The palate still had some body, but by and large this felt a little dilute, with the acidity showing prominently. (93 pts.)
• 2013 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  Not quite as barrel-sample as the 2016, but while the intellectual exercise was certainly worthwhile, it’s not a bottle I would open to drink now. There’s actually a slightly bacterial(?) dirtiness on the nose that was quite persistent and never seemed to go away (this wasn’t TCA though), but mostly this is an exercise in the standard Cornas black fruit. Almost certainly we’ve caught this at an odd time, and I’d be curious to see where this ends up. 2013 isn’t a great vintage, so I doubt this will end up as a brilliant wine, but it should end up as a fairly solid workhorse vintage. Not sure it’s one I would buy though. (93 pts.)
• 2008 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  Corked. (93- pts.)
• 1994 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
  Corked. (93- pts.)

Thought the same about 09, but I wonder if it just needs age to calm down. Doesn’t hurt for a Clape to have a ton of fruit!

Thanks for the notes. I really liked the 96 a few months back, which was pleasantly feral (a number of California wine fans were a lot less impressed). A shame about the 08 which I thought was lovely 6 months ago. Am hopeful your 97 was a bit of a tired bottle…

Really great notes. Thanks Adrian. I was hoping the 2003 would be there? Oh well…

Heartily agree with your comments on the 2004 Adrian. Had one a wee while back that was just delightful. The tannins beautifully resolved, a little hint of wildness, and lovely flow through the mouth. Felt like it was in its drinking plateau, and while there is little extra to be gained in keeping it, at the same time it’s not going to fall over any time soon.

Great notes. Thanks!

The 93 point joke needs to be retired. Better no score than a distracting humourous number IMHO.

Nice notes. A really interesting tasting.

I would have never thought that the 2010 was anywhere near approachable. I had the Renaissance a couple years back and it was a block wall. Both are in the deep recesses of my storage. Stuck back there, too, are the 2009s. The 2001 is outstanding!

If you want the great notes, you get the ‘93 points’ joke - I believe the former is worth the latter. (already asked and answered, that’s how I know)

Just consider it as an anomalous punctuation, sort of like 30 back when there were printing presses. I’ve stopped noticing it, really.

Adrian gets grief but astute readers will appreciate the thread title and number of wines reviewed!

Are these even useful without a bolded score??

I agree about the tasting notes. The joke about Clape is a very old one.

That Bill guy is back?

Robert Parker made that joke 20 years ago.

He was referring to the district in Languedoc, which of course at its best produces much better wines, not that many are noticing.

Dan Kravitz

HAHA, don’t you own that hooch?!?

I’m not praising the tired joke … I just noted he reviewed 12 wines. So appropriate to talk about CASE of Clape … twist on the well worn joke is all

This is a terrible insult! I do not own any vineyards in Languedoc, much less La Clape. I represent some vineyards in Languedoc, but not La Clape. I do however own a vineyard in Roussillon, which a whole nother kettle of worms.

Dan Kravitz

I am 93 points on the clape joke and the 93 points schtick