Domaine du Colombier : Crozes-Hermitage "Cuvée Gaby" 2020

Tasting characteristics and advice for the Crozes-Hermitage "Cuvée Gaby" 2020 from Domaine du Colombier

Tasting

Appearance

The wine displays a bright garnet color with violet highlights, reflecting both its concentration and youthful character.

Nose

The nose is aromatic, complex, and fruit-driven. It reveals notes of black olives and tar, alongside flavors of purple berries and blackberries. Animal nuances, leather, and clove complete this sophisticated bouquet.

Palate

The palate is fleshy, well-structured, full, and generous. The present, complex tannins provide fine structure without excessive austerity. The licorice-tinged finish offers a pleasant length, pointing to excellent aging potential.

Food and wine pairings

This Crozes-Hermitage 2020 pairs perfectly with a lamb and prune tagine, a roast or grilled cut of beef, veal kidneys flambéed with cognac, or game in sauce. It also matches very well with aged cheeses such as Comté or Gruyère.

Serving and cellaring

Domaine du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage 2020 is ideally served between 16 and 18°C. It is recommended to open the bottle at least one hour before serving, or to decant the wine for 2 to 3 hours for young vintages. This wine can be enjoyed until around 2035.

A powerful, elegant Crozes-Hermitage from the Northern Rhône Valley

The estate

Domaine du Colombier was established in 1991 when the Viale family decided to start bottling its own production. Located in Mercurol in the Rhône Valley, the estate now covers around 16 to 18 hectares spread across the Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage appellations. Florent Viale, who runs the estate alongside his brother David, practices natural, near-organic viticulture without formal certification. The estate is known for producing wines of consistently high quality, favoring fruit expression and terroir purity with minimal use of new oak.

The vineyard

The Domaine du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage vineyards span around 9.2 hectares for reds, on plots bordering the famous Hermitage hill. The soils show great diversity, with granite, clay, limestone, chalk, and various surface stones. The plots benefit from the proximity of the Ardèche River and the Ruisseau de Paris, creating an environment conducive to biodiversity. The vineyard is planted exclusively with Syrah for red wines, the emblematic grape variety of the Northern Rhône Valley.

The vintage

The 2020 vintage in the Northern Rhône enjoyed a relatively warm, sunny climate, promoting excellent ripeness in the grapes. These conditions yielded wines with expressive fruit and a well-defined structure, with remarkable balance between concentration and freshness.

Winemaking and aging

The Domaine du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage 2020 grapes were harvested by hand. The fruit was 50% destemmed, retaining a portion of whole clusters to bring complexity and structure. Maceration lasted around three weeks in temperature-controlled concrete vats. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations took place in concrete vats. Aging lasted 18 months in 600-liter demi-muids, with one third new barrels and two thirds once-used barrels, favoring fruit purity over a pronounced oak signature.

Grape variety

100% Syrah