"Jean-Luc Colombo has become one of the stars of Cornas. Well-known as an oenologist for dozens of Rhone Valley clients, Colombo has had a positive influence in the Rhone, undoubtedly improving the quality of many estate's wines. As for his own wines, there are usually three cuvees of Cornas. In ascending order of quality they are: Les Terres Brulees, Les Ruchets (from a specific vineyard), and La Louvee (formerly known as cuvee JLC) ." (Wine Advocate)
"One of the most influential figure in Rhone wine making in the last 20 years has been the Bordeaux-trained enologue Jean Luc Colombo, who advises many a grower on his wine making and has built up his own Estate at Cornas. Colombo's wines demonstrated what he preaches: they are impeccably vinified, richly fruity and heavily oaked wines without rough edges." (James Turnbull)
"Top 100 Wineries of the Year 2008" (Wine & Spirits Magazine)
"A Cornas wine comparable to the best grand crus" (Le Monde)
"Jean-Luc Colombo shakes up the Rhone Valley. A Cornas wine which is among the best wines." (Le Figaro)
"With his eloquence, his appetite for life, and his incredible ability to realize countless ideas, Jean-Luc Colombo is one of the most endearing characters of the French wineries" (Bettane et Dessauve)
Visit of Vins Jean-Luc Colombo
This was a wine tasting only. We were joined by Anne Colombo, the wife of Jean Luc, herself an oenologists, who moved with Jean-Luc to Cornas in 1982.
I had met Jean-Luc Colombo in Washington DC, a few months before our
visit and had established contact with Jean Luc. Jean Luc was not there
when we visited the estate and the visit was a tasting only event.
Vins Jean-Luc Colombo
This is a relatively young winery by French standards, established in 1987. Today Jean-Luc Colombo is one of the most progressive and influential winemakers of his generation and is nicknamed “The Winemaking Wizard of the Rhone.”
Jean-Luc, a native of Marseille, moved with his wife Anne to Cornas in 1982 to set up a pharmacy and oenology lab. Both are oenologists and they created the “Centre of Oenology of Côtes du Rhône” in Cornas in 1984. Jean-Luc has ever since been a consulting winemaker for some 100 of the best “Domaines” in the Rhône Valley, Provence and Bordeaux.
In 1993 Anne and Jean-Luc sold the
pharmacy to focus only on wine. They purchased more vineyards and
started to work as négociants in the region. The Domaine now has 30
acres of vineyard holdings in Cornas. The bulk of the entire production
is through the négociant business, with around 30 wines, the biggest
line being the Côte de Rhône.
Palm Bay International/ Jean-Luc Colombo
The wines of Jean-Luc Colombo are imported into the USA by Palm Bay International.
Palm Bay International:
What happens when you combine a creative, adventurous spirit with an
unbridled passion for wines of quality and character? For lovers of fine
wines from France's Rhône Valley, the answer is simple: Jean-Luc
Colombo.
1984: A devotee of the Syrah grape, Jean-Luc was convinced that the
northern Rhône appellation of Cornas offered enormous potential for
producing stellar quality Syrah. Following his conviction, he opened his
own wine laboratory in Cornas and developed a thriving reputation as a
wine consultant, breathing new life into the then-obscure wines of
Cornas.
JLC Vineyard: Shortly after, Colombo began purchasing his own vineyards
first in Cornas then throughout the Rhône Valley and Languedoc - leading
to the establishment in 1994 of Vins Jean-Luc Colombo. In 2003, Colombo
enhanced his ventures by returning to his roots near Marseille and
purchasing vineyards to produce the now highly-successful Cape Bleue
Rosé.
Jean-Luc Colombo is one of the most progressive and influential
winemakers of his generation and is nicknamed “The Winemaking Wizard of
the Rhone.”
Based in The Rhône Valley: In addition to running Vins Jean-Luc Colombo,
Colombo continues his consulting practice, advising approximately 100
producers throughout the Rhône Valley, Switzerland and southern France.
His wife, Anne, who is closely involved in the production of the Cornas
wines, manages the consulting practice.
In 2010, Laure Colombo, Anne and Jean-Luc's daughter, joined the family
business. An avid world traveler, Laure studied viticulture in Bordeaux
and also holds a Masters degree in Oenology from Montpellier University.
She now works alongside her parents and is already making a name for
herself as one of the Rhône's rising stars.
Wine Spectator/ Winemaker Talk: Jean-Luc Colombo (2007)
Wine Spectator: Winemaker Jean-Luc Colombo, 50, jokes that he's a bit of
a Rhône outcast since he relies on modern techniques in one of France's
most traditional wine regions. At the same time, it's hard to imagine
where the Rhône would be without him, since Colombo was among the first
to travel outside the area and not only aggressively market his own
wines, but also tell the story of the entire region. Colombo grew up in a
family of cooks, so he knew about food and wine early on, but at first
he chose to be a pharmacist instead. It was a short-lived career move;
he purchased his parcels of vines in the 247-acre Cornas region in 1986.
From that humble start, he now makes his small-production, sought-after
Cornas cuvées (Terres Brûlées, Les Ruchets and La Louvée), as well as a
range of other wines, mostly from purchased grapes, reaching all the
way down the valley to a $9 Côtes du Rhône.
Colombo has even begun to make wines from the Côte Bleue, near
Marseilles, from old and neglected vines he found in a national park.
The project is near to his heart since it brings him back closer to
where he grew up. In addition, Colombo remains in high demand as a
consultant, in and out of the Rhône Valley. But wherever he works, his
focus remains squarely on making wines that work well with food. He took
a quick break between tastings and consulting appointments to talk
about his inspirations and his own influence on Rhône winemaking.
Wine Spectator: How did you first get interested in winemaking?
Jean-Luc Colombo: I was first interested in the taste of wine. My mother
was a chef--I grew up in a kitchen environment, with a grandmother and a
mother who were great promoters of the culinary tradition of Marseille.
Not all winemakers have a passion for food, but because everyone in the
family was a chef, all we talked about was food. Then, I really
discovered enology during my pharmaceutical studies. I got a pharmacy
license, and decided to open a lab. The lab was [similar] to winemaking.
WS: What makes Cornas so different from the rest of the Rhône Valley?
JLC: Cornas is part of the Northern Rhône hillsides, which is where
Syrah comes from, and where Syrah gives its greatest expression. At the
same time, the hills of Cornas benefit from Mediterranean influences,
which bring a lot of character to the wine.
WS: And your wines from Côte Bleue?
JLC: That's very different from Cornas. Cornas is the best landscape and
soils for Syrah--it's very porous. So we can have a good Syrah with a
lot of aromas of flowers like lilac and iris. With the fruit it's black
currant or licorice. But the Côte Bleue is more for Mourvèdre and Syrah
because the land is chalk. It's also a peninsula--almost like an island.
You have the huge Lake of Berre, maybe a 30-mile circle, and then south
is the sea. It's almost like Long Island. When you're there it's always
cool. Not cold, not hot. So the Côte Bleue is a very good terroir to
grow Syrah and Mourvèdre. The taste of the grape is never too
mature--it's always 13.5 percent alcohol. We never get 15 percent. There
is no residual sugar, and we don't use irrigation, because we have the
humidity on the leaves.
WS: You've joked sometimes that you're the most hated and loved winemaker in the Rhône. Why?
JLC: Well, when I arrived in the Northern Rhône, techniques were very
old-fashioned, and I shook some habits (I use new oak, destemming, green
harvest). Obviously, this did not please a few narrow-minded
winemakers. Conversely, I did get credit because I contributed to
improving today's wine quality and also because I myself invested a
great deal to promote the wines of the area.
WS: Who have been some of your greatest influences?
JLC: When I discovered enology I read Le Gout du Vin, by the great
Bordeaux enologist Emile Peynaud. In the early years of my career, I
also got to meet Michel Rolland, who showed me the importance of the
role of the consultant, when most enologists were only interested in
analysis.
WS: What would you say is the main difference between someone like you and Rolland?
JLC: We share common ideas, but we have always worked in different wine
regions, either different by size or notoriety. I'm very close to the
thinking of Michel Rolland--I work like him, he works like me--and we
are very close. He's a good friend.
But maybe the difference is I think more about the food [that goes with
the wine]. The food 40 years ago and 20 years ago and five years ago is
different. But the wine [has always been] the same. I love the fruit of
the grape. When you eat the grape in September, the taste is of
blueberry, blackberry and strawberry, and I like to find the taste of
the grape in the wine, in the glass. I try to have the fruit in the
bottle, in that glass of wine.
WS: How do you get that?
JLC: We need to be very clean. Clean cellar, clean barrel. You need to
wash your hands, wash the baskets. Simple, but in fact, it's very
difficult to be clean.
WS: What are some of your favorite things to cook and eat with your wines?
JLC: Very simple things. Like a truffle with a T-bone and marrow. Maybe
not in summer … but very good in winter or autumn. Cornas is also much
better with venison. And of course, Lièvre à la Royale, which is stuffed
and braised rabbit. There is a very famous recipe--it's cooked for a
long, long, long time, maybe 18 hours. The stuffing is truffle, foie
gras, a lot of spice and good fleur de sel. Usually the hare is like a
big sausage. You cut the hare in slices. It's the best! In the U.S. it's
very difficult to find, but one chef who cooks it very well is Didier
Virot at Aix. It's wonderful. It's a food to dream, because it takes so
long to make.
WS: What is your favorite non-European wine?
JLC: Ridge, by winemaker Paul Draper. Usually you have to like the wine
and drink it and you get pleasure, and that's it. The winemaking is good
when you get pleasure in the glass. But when you know the guy--and we
enjoy sharing food and wine with him--or the philosophy of the person,
it is much better. I like him very much because he's very knowledgeable
and he knows food and wine.
Bye-bye
Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours (Issued and Forthcoming Postings)
Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Rhône Valley Tour December 2017: From Lyon to Avignon - Wine, Food, Culture, History
Understanding the Wines of the Rhône Valley: The Classification - AOC/ Vin de Pay/ Vin de France
The Rhône Wine Region in Southern France and its Wines: History, Classification, Northern and Southern Rhône
Dinner at a Historic (Second Empire) Café-Brasserie in Lyon: Grand Café des Négociants - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Maison Guigal in Ampuis, Côte Rôtie, Northern Rhône: Cellar Tour, Tasting and Vineyard Tour - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Cellar Tour, Tasting and Vineyard Drive at E. Guigal in Ampuis, Côte Rôtie, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Lunch at Le Bistro de Serine in Ampuis, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Visit and Tasting at Domaine de Boisseyt in Chavany, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Wine-pairing Dinner at Hôtellerie Restaurant Beau Rivage in Condrieu, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Tasting at Vins Jean-Luc Colombo with Anne Colombo in Cornas, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Tasting at Vins Jean-Luc Colombo in Cornas, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Visit and Tasting at Domaine du Tunnel with Owner/ Winemaker Stéphane Robert in Saint-Peray, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Lunch at Restaurant Le Quai (Michelin/ Bib Gourmand) in Tain-l’Hermitage, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Vineyard Walk and Tasting at Paul Jaboulet Aîné in Tain-l’Hermitage, Hermitage, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Vineyard Walk and Tasting at Paul Jaboulet Aîné in Tain-l’Hermitage, Hermitage, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Visit and Tasting at Domaine Les Bruyères with Owner/ Winemaker David Reynaud in Beaumont-Monteux, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Domaine Les Bruyères in Beaumont-Monteux, Northern Rhône, with Owner/ Winemaker David Reynaud - Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Lunch
at Maison Chabran - La Grand Table with Chef Louis Chabran and his
Father Chef Michel Chabran in Pont d l’Isère, Northern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Lunch at La Grand Table de Michel Chabran, 1-star Michelin, in Pont d l’Isère, Northern Rhône, with Chef Michel Chabran - Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Tasting at Domaine Chaume-Arnaud with Owner/ Winemaker Valérie Chaume-Arnaud in Vinsobres, Southern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Visit and Tasting at Domaine André Berthet-Rayne in Cairanne, Southern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Tasting of the Wines of Château de Beaucastel at Domaine du Clos des Tourelles in Gigondas - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Wine-pairing Dinner at Restaurant L’Oustalet (1* Michelin guide) in Gigondas, with Chef Laurent Deconinck - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Visit and Tasting at Domaine des Pasquiers with Jean Claude and Philippe Lambert in Sablet, Southern Rhône - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Lunch at Restaurant La Maison de Celou (Michelin Bib Gourmand) in Châteauneuf-de-Cadagne - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
In Les Baux de Provence: Visit of the Olive Oil Mill Moulin Castelas and Overnight Stay and Dinner Hôtel Le Mas de l’Oulivier - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Dinner and Overnight-stay at Hôtel/ Restaurant Benvengudo in Les Baux de Provence - Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Arles: City Tour - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
At the Pont du Gard: Lunch at Restaurant Les Terrasses and Sightseeing at the Pont du Gard - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Lunch at Pont du Gard - Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Avignon: Guided Tour of Pont Saint-Bénézet, the so-called ‘Pont d’Avignon’, and the Palace of the Popes - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Domaine Beaurenard in Châteauneuf-du Pape - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Vineyard and Cellar Tour at Vignobles Alain Jaume, Domaine Grand Veneur, with Hélène Jaume in Courthézon, Châteauneuf-du-Pape - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Wine-pairing Lunch at La Table d’Alain Jaume with Hélène Jaume at Domaine Grand Veneur in Courthézon, Châteauneuf-du-Pape - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Tasting at Domaine de La Solitude in Châteauneuf-du-Pape - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Domaine du Pegau in Châteauneuf-du-Pape - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Cellar
Tour and Tasting at Domaine du Pégau in Châteauneuf du Pape, with
Owner/ Winemaker Laurence Féraud and Winemaker Andreas
Lenzenwöger - Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Tasting of Châteuneuf-du-Pape Wines at La Cave de Mathias with Mathias in Châteauneuf-du-Pape - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Wine-pairing Dinner and Overnight-stay at Hôstellerie du Château des Fines Roches in Châteauneuf du Pape - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
Dinner and Overnight-stay at Hôstellerie du Château des Fines Roches in Châteauneuf du Pape, with Chef Hugo Loridan-Fombonnet - Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
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