Tasting with Jean Luc Colombo

Recently I had the pleasure of tasting the wines of Jean Luc Colombo winery with Jean Luc himself. As we tasted through the wines, he told me about his approach to winemaking. He says that he works to keep the alcohol level down, so that there is less of the juicy, jammy fruit to distract from the floral notes. I have always been a fan of fruit, but in going though the lineup, it became clear what he was going for. The wines are very appealing and approachable.

The first wines we tried were from a property that he rents in southern France. The Viognier la Violette 2008 had exotic fruits flavors and a fresh finish. This is a well-made wine, but I admit that viognier does not really appeal to me. Next came the Syrah la Violette 2008: deep in color, with violet nose. This is where the lower alcohol came in to play - it allowed the wine to show a richness that you don’t normally find in a wine at this price point. A Wine Guy Value.

Then we moved on to the southern Rhone. First up was the Les Abeilles white 2008, a surprising lush white with a hint of spice on its crisp finish. Next was the Les Abeilles rouge 2007, a blend of one-third grenache, one-third syrah, and one-third mourvèdre. This wine has a great color with round, rich berry flavors and a lot of red fruit on the nose. A Wine Guy Best Buy.

I don’t want to forget about the bright little rosé Cape Bleue 2009, 50-50 syrah-mourvedre blend. I tasted a bit of raspberry mixing with an air of peach; the finish is supple and dry. This wine would be great with fresh-caught seafood. Then came the Les Forots Cotes Du Rhone 2006, 100 percent syrah from 65-year-old vines. This is not your father’s Cotes Du Rhone – the wine is balanced, rich, layered in flavors, and has a finish that beckons for more. A Wine Guy Favorite.

The next wine was an interesting contrast to the others, given what Jean Luc had said about lowering the alcohol in his wines. His Chateauneuf Du Pape Les Bartavelles 2006, the same blend as Les Abeilles Rouge, was more forceful then the previous wines. I tasted more dark, jammy fruit, and thought that it had a less than subtle finish as compared to the other wines. A real meat and potato companion, it felt out of place in the lineup to me. I did like it though…maybe I’ll have to try again to make sure?