A Highpoint for Northern Rhône Benchmark
2012 Clape Cornas
"The Cornas of the vintage... Cornas at its finest"
-Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate
By all accounts, something incredible happened to Clape in 2012. Here the vintage was amplified. All the elements of the vintage are there, it's just on a scale without peer.
The pristine freshness is there, the immediately appealing fruit is front and center. But the backbone is firmer, and the density is kicked up.
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If Allemand is Cornas as suave, fine and bright, Clape shows the region's dark side, wonderfully bone-crushing and savory. With time in the cellar, the wines transform to reveal a refined core of herbal elegance.
We've opened so many stunning bottles of old Clape that we're convinced that few other Cornas can rival the age-worthiness of Clape.
It probably goes without saying that we have high hopes for the 2012. In the Northern Rhône, 2012 shares the clarity and brightness that 2010 offered, but comes across less sternly. It's a vintage I love for its drinkability, beautiful balance and ultra-fine ageworthy structure.
As much as I like the vintage in general, Clape's 2012s are in their own category. There's an intersection of complexity, concentration and refinement that sets Clape apart. Jeb Dunnuck calls it: "Cornas at its finest."
Clape's are wines that reveal something essential and profound about Cornas' granite slopes. The 2012 represents a highpoint for this historic benchmark domaine. Don't miss.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate: "The Cornas of the vintage is Clape’s 2012 Cornas. An incredible effort, its inky purple/black color is followed by spectacular aromas and flavors of black raspberry, graphite, beef blood, iron, cedar and white pepper (among other things). This is Cornas at its finest, with insane aromatics, full-bodied richness and massive concentration, yet at the same time staying elegant, seamless and gorgeously pure. It’s more approachable than the 2010, but should still need 3-4 years of cellaring and have two decades of longevity."