Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas 1996 Bouteille (75cl) ELA

Histoire du domaine

The estate’s historic buildings date back to the early 19th century and were then surrounded by arable land. The Frugier family cultivated both vines and cereals there in turn. Phylloxera reached Cornas in 1865 and destroyed a large part of the vineyard; Henri Frugier replanted two hectares from 1890 onwards. After the First World War, vine cultivation declined once again in favour of cereal crops. In 1925, Antoinette Frugier inherited the estate and sold the wine produced there to wine merchants in Saint-Péray and to restaurants in Valence. In 1949, her daughter Ariette took over the estate with her husband Auguste Clape; the couple then had four hectares of vines. Together with other Cornas winegrowers, they helped establish a wine market in 1955, a period which marked the start of bottling on the estate. The wines then began to be sold in Lyon and, from 1970, exported. In 1975, Auguste Clape invested in agricultural machinery to plant vines on the hillsides, whilst other crops were gradually phased out. Pierre-Marie Clape joined the estate in 1988, followed by his son Olivier in 2002. Following the deaths of Auguste Clape in 2018 and Pierre-Marie Clape in 2025, Olivier Clape has continued to run the estate and produce the wines on his own.