2008 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas

Community Tasting Notes (50) Avg Score: 91.9 points

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  3/15/2024 - Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 93 Points

  My unquiet mind appreciated this wine. Of late I have, at times, suspected that I have adopted the mentality of the beast of burden, inured to the goad and the load, expecting nothing less and simply relieved if it is not worse.
  
  However, a wine like this reminds me that even in my most bestial mode, I get some good oats and hay at the end of some days. For these things we should be very grateful.
  
  I note that for the Northern Rhone, 2008 verged on being a stinker, so this wine is doubly a gift.
  
  The colour is a thing to behold - deep, almost inky, a little fading to the rim as you tilt the glass, but also more red, than brick. Given the vintage this is very promising and more so, given that the cork in this bottle was a swine that first pushed down as soon as any pressure was exerted and then the corkscrew acted like an auger produced core samples of soil. The Ah So simply made the cork respond like an Ah Sol. Rome's treatment of Carthage at the end of the Punic Wars should be visited on those who sell and those who use the cork in wine.
  
  From the outset this wine was heaven. It gets better and more settled with time open but I go weak at my knobbly knees when I get lashings of dark plum (that sweet and sour combination), black pepper, polished leather, some anise or clove. It has somehow survived it's fiendish 'closure'.
  
  This wine has great intensity and length, the tannins are well on the way to resolving (unless you are a tannin pansy and if so, begone and leave Cornas to those who love the taste of war) and the acid is fresh. This doesn't quite have the intensity of great years and there is a slight element of green pea if you look hard but what do you expect? Vintage will speak. However, here it does not shout, it whispers. I think many drinkers would just love this and I can't blame them because I do, too. It breaks through my mulish mode. It is good to have the Clape.

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  8/12/2023 - acidqueen wrote: 93 Points

  Rich red color. We had this tonight side by side with the 2008 Allemand Reynard and it was a great comparison. The quality of both was equal but stylistically very different.
  The Clape is earthy, with more black pepper and olive at the start. We did a 30 minute decant but drank this over 2+ hours and it really needed the longer time. I recommend a minimum one to two hour+ decant right now. The glass made a big difference as well. We did our taste comparison in simple tasting glasses so it would be an equal field, but the wine really came alive with the Conterno Sensory glass. We loved this wine and it will improve in the next few years. No rush here as long as you treat it right - long decant, good glass. Classic old school Cornas.

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  6/9/2023 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Tasted next to the 2009 Clape. This was more expressive and fragrant on the nose with red fruit, meat, olives, and cherry notes. Good acidity with medium+ tannins, tart fruit, cherries, and forest notes on the palate. Nice finish. Really beautiful wine, especially on the nose. I preferred this stylistically to the 09.

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  1/16/2023 - tanduybui Likes this wine: 92 Points

  An approachable Cornas from a difficult vintage, so it is a bit of a bright spot in what was a difficult year.
  
  Approachable and pleasant by Cornas standards. Raspberry, white spices, plum and floral bouquet notes. Body is medium with red fruit and excellent freshness indicating it still has some way to go. Tannin is refined and does not stand out. Finish is long with some sage and thyme…
  
  Drink now to 2030+.

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  12/9/2022 - drrobvino wrote: 90 Points

  This is my 3rd bottle from 6 purchased. Last consumed 1 yr ago.
  This wine has loads of time left, as opposed to my last tasting note.
  Black fruited and wild, with rather burly tannins and moderate acidity. Better with food.
  Drink through 2028+.

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