Laurent Combier began making his own wines in 1990, after years of selling his fruit to the Cave de Tain. His sons, Julien and David, joined him in 2014, working together to farm nearly 62 acres in and around their base in Pont de l’Isère, all of the vineyards certified organic. Clos des Grives is their top cuvée, the fruit pulled from a 22-acre plot in the south of the appellation; nearly half of those vines were planted in 1952. The 2017 captures the generous style typical of wines from southern Crozes (see Crozes-Hermitage Nord & Sud by Josh Raynolds, W&S 2/20), with the power and precision of old-vine fruit. It’s both sweet and snappy, its fleshy red-cherry fruit contained by taut acidity and framed in fine tannins. A year in oak barrels has made those tannins as smooth as glass, and added seductively exotic scents of cherry wood and spice. It’s delicious now, fresh and precise, and should age well.
94
Domaine Combier 2017 Crozes-Hermitage Clos des Grives
$65
Every week, our editors highlight a wine that intrigued them in our blind panel tastings, expanding on their tasting note in this space. These are entirely editorial choices; there are no paid placements. Subscribers can also access the original tasting note by searching here.
is W&S’s editor at large and covers the wines of the Mediterranean and Central and Eastern Europe for the magazine.
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