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Domaine Combier
So far ahead of the organics game was Laurent's father Maurice, he gained the nickname of Maurice le Fou (Crazy Maurice) when he converted the family's mixed fruit farm over 40 years ago. All that hard work has paid off for his son, and current generation winemaker Laurent Combier. After a short hiatus away from the family farm studying oenology and working at some fancy wineries Laurent returned full of knowledge and gusto, and big decisions were made to pull their grapes from the local co-op and focus on Domaine Combier. Since those important years, Domaine Combier has grown quite a following for their organic, and more importantly, well made wines.
Domaine Combier is located in the heart of the Crozes-Hermitage appellation, in the Rhône Valley. The origins of the Combier family in this region date back to 1936 when Camille Combier bought a property in La Roche de Glun with 3 hectares of vines and 4 hectares of apricot trees. In the 1960s, Maurice and Paulette Combier set up as farmers in the neighbouring town of Pont de l'Isère. As early as 1970, they were visionaries and invested all their time and money in healthy and organic cultivation in both arboriculture and viticulture. In 1990, Laurent Combier, along with his wife Ghislaine, took over the estate, which then had 5 hectares of vines and 15 hectares of fruit trees. Freshly graduated in viticulture and oenology, Laurent envisioned his wines to reach the top of the best appellations. In less than two decades, Laurent achieved his goal as now Clos des Grives has become one of the most iconic wines of the northern Rhone valley. The new generation, David and Julien, full of ideas and dynamism, are now taking more and more responsibilities at the estate.
Since 1970 the whole 25ha of vineyards have been farmed organically, and the new generation is pushing even further. In order to preserve their own typicity of grape varieties, the estate has developed through the years their unique massal selection to use for plantation and replantation. Each intervention in the vineyard is adjusted to the character of the soil, the lunar calendar, and the plant's life force. Nature governs each gesture and not the other way around.
After manual harvesting and strict sorting at the winery, the grapes are fermented in stainless steel vats using a gentle pump over. Once fermentation is done, wine is transferred into Burgundy barrels for 12 months of ageing. Laurent even experimented with ageing in globes of glass. Before bottling, wines are adjusted with a bit of SO2, and they will age for an extra 12 months before being released for sale.