The Integrity of Cornas
2009 Clape Cornas Renaissance
What the "Lesser" Cuvée Has to Say
(at Half the Price)
"These are among the finest wines I have tasted from Clape in my 30+ years of visiting and tasting with first Auguste Clape and more recently his son, Pierre-Marie." - Robert Parker
It's not like we really needed to hear Parker's praise to be very interested in the 09 Clape Renaissance.
The truth is, the wines of Auguste and his son Pierre-Marie Clape are benchmark Cornas with an unassailable integrity. Love them or hate them, they must be respected.
All that to say, well... we happen to love them, and anytime we find well-priced parcels, we buy. Praise like that for the heralded 2009 vintage and Parker's enthusiastic note above really only affirms what we already expected from this great estate.
It also only ensures that the inevitable sell-out will happen even more quickly. Word to the wise today: We have just a few cases to go around, and at this pricing, you should act fast if you have any interest. Today we offer the 2009 Clape Cornas Renaissance at $58.95 a bottle.
The Northern Rhône was dealt a beautiful hand in 2009: The wines show ripe and exuberant fruit, yet there’s a powerful streak of fresh acidity lending fantastic tension and balance. In Clape's 09 Renaissance, there's the signature meatiness, the richness and power of the Syrah grape grown in these parts, checked with a sense of vibrancy and a firm tannic spine.
Renaissance is the "lesser" of Clape’s two Cornas bottlings (the vines simply aren't as old), but this cuvée can be very, very good in vintages like 01 and 09... and considerably cheaper - as in, half the price of the straight Cornas.
There's not much more to say about Auguste and Pierre-Marie Clape that hasn't already been said 1,000 times. Auguste, the father, worked his first harvest in Cornas in 1949; the Clape family has been a pillar of the community, of the appellation, of the culture of Cornas ever since.
The Clape family now farms somewhere in the area of five hectares of vineyards in Cornas, in the most prestigious sites of the commune: Reynards, Les Mazards and Sabarotte (an old Noël Verset site). Since 1989, Auguste's son Pierre-Marie has been in charge of the estate, continuing the traditions of traditional Cornas. These wines have been a part of defining Syrah, of defining this region, this terroir. The wines of Clape are Cornas - nothing more, nothing less.
More and more people are recognizing the history, the quality, the integrity here, and more and more people are seeking out these wines. They do not last on our shelves; you know the drill: Give us your maximum order, and we'll allocate accordingly.
To order, email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Stephen Bitterolf
Wine Director
Crush Wine & Spirits
2009 Clape Cornas Renaissance
$58.95 |