2022 Domaine Auguste Clape Cotes du Rhone [JS93][JD91][D90]

Producer: Clape 
Region: Cotes du Rhone, Rhone, France 
Varietal: Syrah 
Year: 2022 

James Suckling, 93 Points 

"A serious, well-crafted and lively Cotes-du-Rhone that shows notes of wild berries, dried herbs and baking spices. Medium-bodied with fine tannins. Velvety texture on the palate with bright acidity. So crunchy, vivid and transparent, with a flavorful and spicy finish that has excellent length. Drink or hold." 

Jeb Dunnuck, 91 Points 

"The 2022 Côtes Du Rhône is clearly better, with a more medium to full-bodied, round, textured style. It's a classy, old-school effort (the abv is 11.5%) that has some gamey blue fruits and mulberry nuances, plenty of peppery, violet notes, ripe tannins, and a great finish. I was thrilled to be able to retaste the 2020s during my visit with Pierre-Marie Clape, and it’s safe to say I underrated these last year. They’ve have morphed into heavenly wines that are unquestionably in the same league as the estate 2010s, 2018s, and 2019s. The 2021s here have pure, classic, old school-like profiles with more moderate concentration and depth, but good balance as well as length. Harkening back to wines from the 1980s, they’re already approachable yet should have 10-15 years of interesting drinking." 

Decanter, 90 Points 

"More classically Cornas in style compared to the domaine’s Vin des Amis cuvée this year, it's quite animal in style. Full-bodied, with marked acidity and tight tannins. Explosively flavoursome but not as long on the finish as some years." 

Winemaker Notes: 

"The Côtes du Rhône is crafted from a selection of young-vine Cornas and older Syrah on deeper clay soils just outside the appellation. Sturdy and mineral-driven, it tastes like the grapes were prompted, gently but insistently, to eke out the pure essence of Syrah. It can be enjoyed young, but has enough density and chewy flesh to age for up to a decade." 

Alcohol: 12.5% 

*Price and availability in store may vary. Vintage date may differ from pictured.