Domaine Auguste Clape Renaissance Cornas 2014
The 2014 Domaine Auguste Clape Renaissance is a 100% Syrah red wine from the Cornas appellation in the Rhône Valley. As the estate's Renaissance cuvée, it combines a dense, rustic structure with an elegant, silky, and refined expression of the vintage. The Wine Advocate awards it 91/100, highlighting notes of meat, iron, crushed rock, and violet, framed by fine tannins and a supple texture. Jancis Robinson rates it 16.5/20. Ideally enjoyed between 2019 and 2024 according to The Wine Advocate, and up to 2029 according to Jancis Robinson.
La bouteille proposée
- Size
- Bottle (75cl)
- Label Condition
- Perfect
- Fill Level
- Perfect
- Capsule Condition
- Perfect
Identité du vin
- Couleur
- Red
- Pays
- France
- Région
- Rhone
- Appellation
- Cornas
- Producteur / Domaine
- Domaine Auguste Clape
- Cuvée
- Renaissance
- Millésime
- 2014
Cépage et assemblage
- Grape Variety
- 100% Syrah
Domaine Auguste Clape
The Auguste Clape estate is a family-run business based in Cornas, in the Ardèche, in the northern Rhône. Olivier Clape is now the owner and oversees the winemaking. The vineyard, spread across Cornas, Saint-Péray, Côtes-du-Rhône and Vin de France, comprises plots on granite-rich hillsides and vines of Syrah, Marsanne and Roussanne.
- Owner
- Olivier Clape
- Maître de chais
- Olivier Clape
- Surface (ha)
- 8.80 ha
- Production (average bottles per vintage)
- 35 000 bouteilles/an
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.
Renaissance
Renaissance is a Cornas made from Syrah using the youngest vines of Domaine Auguste Clape, whereas the main Cornas prioritizes old vines. The various lieux-dits are vinified separately and then blended. The cuvée retains the domain's traditional methods, notably whole clusters and aging in old foudres.
- Cuvée creation year
- 1998
- Style of the cuvée
- A traditional, structured Cornas marked by Syrah, generally more accessible in its youth than the main Cornas, while retaining depth, freshness, spicy character, and aging potential.
- Position within the range
- A Cornas from young vines, more accessible than the main Cornas originating from the domain's oldest vines.
Histoire de la cuvée
Documented as being produced for the first time in 1998, Renaissance allowed the domain to isolate the wines from its younger vines. It is crafted using the same approach as the main Cornas and bottled at the same time.
