Community Tasting Note
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Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 97 points
July 23, 2022 - Right, let's get straight to the point. Sell your children, murder your spouse for the life insurance, lose the fiddle playing competition with Lucifer - it really doesn't matter, just do whatever you need to do to get as much of this as you can and start drinking before the consequences catch up with you. In all seriousness, I think this may be the greatest Clape Cornas I have tasted.
The colour is an impenetrable purple-red. There is not a hint of fading at the edge as you tilt the glass.
The nose starts rather stinky but over about 8 hours opens up. The funk remains but there are wonderful fruit aromas of blackberry, dark plum and a lifted perfume of blueberry. Smoke, black pepper and a hint of clove add to the mix. By now I am looking for someone more evil than the Devil with whom to make a pact so I can get more of this.
The palate rolls on like a highway to hell (you know you shouldn't go there but it just looks too infernally good), supple, long and intense. This has the balance to be Malificent drinking now, but the components are all there for a long, long afterlife ahead. It does finish with some fine, drying tannins.
I bet this is what the French at Bir Hakeim were thinking of in 1942; if we can break-out we can guarantee a lifetime of Clape Cornas. By Jove, even a lifelong Flashman devotee like myself would fight for this.
If you are reading this in Australia, my disinterested advice is to save yourself for swill and buy this, buy lots of it, but donate it to the Rote Kappelle Hepatic Foundation. It does such good work.13 people found this helpful 5,056 views
4 Comments
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junglejuice commented:
8/3/22, 8:53 AM - Great note! Do you recall the abv of the '19?
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Rote Kappelle commented:
8/3/22, 2:27 PM - I checked and it is 13.5% ABV, although I never put too much faith in these numbers on any wine bottle. I didn't feel it was unbalanced or using high alcohol to make for early approachability. I have found most of the 2019 NH reds so far to have excellent balance - great substance but not too much alcohol. I have had a quick look at your TN's and I suspect you'd like this. Yet I think what you'd really like to do is to buy lots and then give it to me. Think of it as being like investing in an ethical Cryptocurrency - ethical because my naked greed is more open and thus more honest. Cryptocurrency because I have the same substance.
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boillatm commented:
12/5/22, 4:49 AM - After reading this note, I couldn't help but buy a case of these. My wallet doesn't say thank you :)
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csimm commented:
5/1/23, 9:09 AM - I stumbled across this note and I just had to commend you on it. Fun and informative read. Clape should kick down some commission for you, since I'm now pressing "Confirm purchase" on a gaggle of these bottles. Damn Cellar Tracker! :)