"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)
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Lunch at Pont du Gard - Rhône Valley Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France
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