2023 Le Vin des Amis
Domaine Clape
Lithe and focused, Le Vin des Amis is just as it sounds: an irresistible charmer to be shared among good friends, characterized by a brilliant floral perfume and wild dark fruit that glides over the palate like velvet.
—Anthony Lynch
| Wine Type: | red |
| Vintage: | 2023 |
| Bottle Size: | 750mL |
| Blend: | Syrah |
| Appellation: | Vin de France |
| Country: | France |
| Region: | Northern Rhône |
| Producer: | Domaine Clape |
| Winemaker: | Olivier Clape |
| Vineyard: | 1 ha, 65 years average |
| Soil: | Round alluvial riverbed stones |
| Aging: | Fermented and aged in cement tanks, then 2 month passage in foudres before bottling |
| Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
| Alcohol: | 11% |
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About The Producer
Domaine Clape
In the world of wine, there are many good winegrowers. However, there are only a very select few who are truly great, and Auguste Clape will go down in history as one of the greats. A proud and uncompromising pioneer of fine winemaking in the Northern Rhône, his Syrahs from the cru of Cornas have earned their place among the most celebrated wines of France. The Clapes have been vignerons for many generations, but the infamous grower strikes of 1906 and 1907 forced Auguste's grandfather out of the Languedoc and into the Northern Rhône to start anew from practically nothing. The Clapes rebuilt their fortunes, terrace by terrace, along the steep, western slopes of the Rhône River. Without pretense or fanfare, Auguste, the former mayor of Cornas, was a stately picture of grace and magnanimity—a no-nonsense wise man who never rested on his laurels and sought to better himself and his wines each year until his passing in 2018 at the age of 93. Today, his son, Pierre-Marie, and grandson, Olivier, carry on his legacy with honor and integrity.
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Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch