2017 Cornas 0,75 l Auguste Clape

Dark, youthful purple. Powerful, smoke- and mineral-accented aromas of ripe dark berries, licorice, olive and a hint of incense on the deeply perfumed nose. Juicy and sharply delineated in the mouth, offering concentrated, spice-laced blackberry, bitter cherry and fruitcake flavors that take on a smoky aspect as the wine opens up. In an ample but lively style, finishing juicy and extremely long, with building tannins adding framework and youthful grip.

Lastly, the 2017 Cornas showed incredibly well. A great vintage for the Northern Rhône, it has textbook aromas and flavors. Due to yields, no Renaissance cuvée was produced, so readers need to grab bottles of this while they can. Revealing a deep purple color as well a sweet nose of dark fruits, currants, ground pepper, bloody meat, and iron, the 2017 hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a powerful, dense mid-palate, huge minerality, and enough tannins to warrant 7-8 years of bottle age. Pierre-Marie Clape and his son Olivier continue to make some of the most impressive (as well as singular) wines in the world from their tiny cellar in Cornas. This is a bastion of traditional winemaking and the wines are not destemmed, see long fermentations, and aging in ancient barrels and casks. While they didn’t release a Renaissance cuvée in 2017 due to tiny yields, their Cornas is stunning stuff not far off what was achieved in 2010 and 2015. I suspect the 2018 will match, or exceed, the 2017.

Harmonious and succulent, but far from full complexity at this stage. Seems to be settling in for a long ride. (RH)