Winemaker Notes
The Clape family vinifies in large, old, wooden casks and makes majestically dark and brooding Cornas, layered with aromas of herbs and mint.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A chiseled, textured, ample and very precise Cornas red. The nose reveals notes of dark cherries, plums, currants, wild herbs, crushed stones, undergrowth and baking spices. Medium-bodied with finely grained tannins. There is such impressive concentration and intensity. Bright and succulent at the core, with purple fruit, white pepper and even violets. It has drive and verve, with bright acidity cutting through the solid and harmonious frame of tannins. Layered and succulent, with a long, peppery finish and hints of violets.
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Vinous
Inky violet. Intense aromas of cherry, blackberry, olive, exotic spices and pipe tobacco are complemented by a smoky mineral nuance and a hint of bacon fat. Chewy and subtly sweet, offering concentrated, smoke-laced kirsch, dark berry preserve, espresso and licorice flavors and a spicy jolt of black pepper. Finishes impressively long and spicy, with chewy tannins and a building floral note.
Barrel Sample: 95-97 -
Decanter
A tasting of the constituent lieux-dits indicates that this will be a fresh, well-balanced style of Cornas. The acidity is high this year, and the tannins are classically Cornas in their granitic grain and intensity. A highly structured year, this will always be a vintage for dedicated Cornas-lovers, there's no great wealth of rich fruit behind like in some recent vintages, but nonetheless this should age well. Very much a classic year, rather than the powerfully ripe and rich vintages we've seen since 2017. Whole-bunch fermented in concrete, aged in old foudres.
Barrel Sample: 96 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship 2021 Cornas, which comes from the older vines, is clearly outstanding and will also offer lots of up-front appeal. Classic Clape wild blue fruits, iron, violets, and floral notes were present in all of the samples, and it should be a medium-bodied, balanced Cornas. As with the Renaissance, it has good ripeness, but this certainly brings more tannins and structure.
Barrel Sample: (92-94)+ -
Wine Spectator
An elegant expression of Cornas, with real complexity. High-toned cherry and olive tapenade are laced with sweet bay leaf, lavender and earth. Well-managed tannins support the supple core of red fruit. Shows a refined inner density that builds with time in glass for a long, drawn-out finish. Not powerful, but serious and characterful. Best from 2026 through 2040. 185 cases imported.
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.