(Decanter) - Pierre-Auguste Clape, a leading figure of the Cornas appellation in northern Rhône, has died at the age of 93.

Considered one of the pioneers of the renewal of quality wines in Cornas, Clape was also viewed as a guardian of a traditional approach to winemaking in the northern Rhône.

In 1949, he married an heiress of the Frugier farming estate and subsequently decided to revive the property’s vineyard. It extended to only four hectares and was almost abandoned after the phylloxera crisis.

In the 1950s, while producing wine for Rhône negociants, Clape decided instead to bottle his wines at the estate – which was revolutionary at the time.

In the 1970s he was then one of the first to export his wines to the United States and England.

At the head of an 8.5-hectare estate, Pierre-Auguste Clape always favoured a traditional vision of Cornas wines.