Auguste Clape Cuvee Renaissance Cornas 2019
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
Made from the domaine's younger vines, Renaissance showcases top terroirs across the Cornas appellation in a slightly more accessible way than Clape's flagship bottling. Given the same treatment—vinified naturally with whole clusters and aged in old foudresfor nearly two years before being bottled unfiltered—it can be enjoyed in its youth, although it certainly has the structure to age for many years. Replete with inky black fruit, black olive, and gamey overtones, this Syrah is the real deal from one of the best in the game.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Neither of the 2019 Cornas had been bottled at the time of my trip through the region. The 2019 Cornas Renaissance is well worth seeking out, and despite being the entry level Cornas for this family, it tastes like most estates’ top releases. Beautiful red and blue fruits, bouquet garni, iron, and peppery notes give way to a medium to full-bodied, pure, seamless Cornas that should benefit from just short-term cellaring and have 15 years or more of prime drinking.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Even the "early-drinking" 2019 Cornas Renaissance needs some time in the cellar. It's full-bodied, dense and tannic, with notes of horse liniment and cassis, plus savory undertones of black olive. Rich, velvety textured and long on the finish, it looks to be a solid effort.
Barrel Sample: 92-94+
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In the world of wine, there are many good winegrowers. However, there are only a very select few who are truly great, and Auguste Clape will go down in history as one of the greats. A proud and uncompromising pioneer of fine winemaking in the Northern Rhône, his Syrahs from the cru of Cornas have earned their place among the most celebrated wines of France. The Clapes have been vignerons for many generations, but the infamous grower strikes of 1906 and 1907 forced Auguste's grandfather out of the Languedoc and into the Northern Rhône to start anew from practically nothing. The Clapes rebuilt their fortunes, terrace by terrace, along the steep, western slopes of the Rhône River. Without pretense or fanfare, Auguste, the former mayor of Cornas, was a stately picture of grace and magnanimity—a no-nonsense wise man who never rested on his laurels and sought to better himself and his wines each year until his passing in 2018 at the age of 93. Today, his son, Pierre-Marie, and grandson, Olivier, carry on his legacy with honor and integrity.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Distinguished as a fine Syrah producing zone since the 18th century, Cornas, like Cote Rotie, is made up of vineyards covering steep and hard-to-work, granite terraces. As a result the region’s wines fell out of favor during the mid 20th century when the global market was more focused on bulk wines and vineyards that yielded high quantities. It wasn’t until the 1980s when a group of energetic young winemakers reestablished the integrity of these precipitous terraces and also began making an ultra-modern style of Syrah. The new style didn’t need a decade before it was drinkable and could reach the consumer faster than the region’s traditional wines. Given the new quality coming out of the zone, its popularity once again soared and today a good Cornas can easily challenge many of those from Hermitage. Characteristics of Syrah from Cornas include teeth-staining flavors of blackberry jam, plum, pepper, violets, smoked game, charcoal, chalk dust and smoke.