Community Tasting Note
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mmoretal Likes this wine: 93 points
September 11, 2020 - Cornas has become somewhat of an obsession for me over the past year, so after enjoying various offerings from Balthazar, Courbis, Farge, Lionnet, Paris (his Reynard bottling is exceptional, I thought), Tunnel, and others I couldn’t wait any longer to try my first bottle from the legend himself.
Invited some friends and started with a flight of St. Joseph (Darnaud), McLaren Vale Shiraz (Coriole) and Russian River Syrah (Carlisle) for context. A viognier for variety, and then this Clape was paired with a ‘15 Sangre de Jonata. Decanted 3 hours.
Immediately after opening, the Clape was closed on the nose and dominated by tannin on the palate. After decanting: much more open aromas of fragrant violets and rose, black plum, hint of green bell pepper (from stems?), black peppercorns, and some sage or rosemary. The palate is taut and structured, with mostly primary flavors: black cherry, plum, maybe some black olive and licorice. There is a refreshing streak of minerality. Body is lighter than I expected initially and on the mid-palate, before the tannins set in for a long finish.
When I first opened this I was worried it would be way too young, but after three hours of breathing it seems to have turned out well. Maybe it’s the comparison with the new world wines, but I was surprised by how elegant and balanced this felt. With a few more years the tannins should be more integrated, but I enjoy that bit of grip it has now. I found it really enjoyable and I’m motivated to seek out more bottles of this and other vintages. It is pricey though, compared to say, Courbis Sabarotte 2010 (similar complexity, slightly better balance for drinking now) or Farge Reynard 2017 (astounding in its purity and intensity).4 people found this helpful 3,712 views