Served double blind. The fizz here has a bit of a chalk-dust/soft-drink thing going on that made me cough when I stuck my nose in the glass. Clearly not champagne, with a little bit of a white-fruit sweetness. Some fruit and a little herbal. The power here is definitely not high; had me thinking of cremant from somewhere, but I think the fruit profile threw me a bit and I ended up guessing this was a sekt.
Rose de saignee. 80% 2011, 20% reserve. Disgorged summer 2014. I really wasn't a fan of this at all, despite generally being a fan of the Pouillon wines. This bottle just somehow didn't cut it at all. It was volatile on the nose and palate, and had a spritzy thing that was texturally off. Seemed slightly herbaceous, and there was a really odd spicy thing as well.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 structural and at least for now, more complex.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2013 Hermann J. Wiemer Cuvée Brut 85 Points
USA, New York, Finger Lakes, Seneca Lake
Served double blind. The fizz here has a bit of a chalk-dust/soft-drink thing going on that made me cough when I stuck my nose in the glass. Clearly not champagne, with a little bit of a white-fruit sweetness. Some fruit and a little herbal. The power here is definitely not high; had me thinking of cremant from somewhere, but I think the fruit profile threw me a bit and I ended up guessing this was a sekt.
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NV Roger Pouillon et Fils Champagne Premier Cru Brut Rosé 83 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Rose de saignee. 80% 2011, 20% reserve. Disgorged summer 2014. I really wasn't a fan of this at all, despite generally being a fan of the Pouillon wines. This bottle just somehow didn't cut it at all. It was volatile on the nose and palate, and had a spritzy thing that was texturally off. Seemed slightly herbaceous, and there was a really odd spicy thing as well.
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1994 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas Flawed
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Corked.
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1996 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 93 Points
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.
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1997 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 90 Points
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.
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2004 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 93 Points
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.
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2008 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas Flawed
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Corked.
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2001 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 95 Points
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.
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2006 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 93 Points
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 structural and at least for now, more complex.
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2007 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 90 Points
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.
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2013 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 88 Points
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.
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2016 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 93 Points
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.
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2009 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 90 Points
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.
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2010 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 95 Points
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.
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