Walled in by hedges and spanning just 4.5 hectares, Laurent Combier’s “Clos des Grives” vineyard isn’t merely one of the most prized sites in Crozes-Hermitage—it ranks among the greatest Syrah plantings in the entire northern Rhône.
Given the relative vastness and variability of the Crozes-Hermitage appellation, which surrounds the tiny Hermitage hill and extends outward to the north, east, and south, we tend to paint the AOC with a broad brush. Saint-Joseph gets this treatment, too, and of course it has plenty of its own pockets of greatness. In fact, when I tasted Combier’s 2015 “Clos des Grives” I couldn’t resist making the comparison to the transcendent Syrahs of Domaine Pierre Gonon in Saint-Joseph. Combier is to Crozes-Hermitage what Gonon is to Saint-Joseph—transcendent—and if you love the top wines of Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage, “Clos des Grives” will speak to you. This is serious Syrah for the cellar at a fraction of the cost of more-famous contemporaries (our stock in trade here at SommSelect). Tasting this wine blind will trick many into thinking it is Hermitage, and don’t let the generosity of the 2015 vintage fool you: the wine is beguiling now but promises to be downright profound 5-7 years down the line. This remains one of the great ‘sleepers’ in Northern Rhône Syrah, and I suggest you capitalize on that now before its price catches up with its quality. It comes into the US in tiny quantities and sells out quickly, so do not miss this if you love the Northern Rhône. It is simply incredible!
And, as is so often the case, it all starts in the vineyards—in this case, exceptionally well-placed holdings on the ‘Roche de Glun’ plateau, at the base of the fabled Hermitage hill. As fans of northern Rhône Syrah know, wine doesn’t get much more site-specific than Hermitage, which is comprised of a single south-facing hillside along the Rhône. With only about 140 hectares of vines in total, Hermitage is the Rhône’s rarest Syrah-based commodity (even more so than Côte-Rôtie), and is priced accordingly. Crozes-Hermitage, of course, is much larger and more geologically diverse appellation—and prime hunting ground for value-seekers—but today’s single-vineyard bottling from Domaine Combier is truly on another level. Originally planted in 1954 on soils of red clay, chalk, and alluvial stones, “Clos des Grives” is more than just a vineyard: it’s a landmark, and a reference point for deeply concentrated yet highly perfumed Syrah.
The Combier property, based in the village of Pont-de-l’Isère—so named for the Isère River, which meets the Rhône River just south of Tain l’Hermitage—was known for apricots and peaches before grapes and wine. Maurice Combier purchased the property in 1962, and by the early ‘70s he had begun converting his orchards to organic farming—which, in those chemical-happy days, earned him the nickname ‘Maurice le Fou’ (‘Crazy Maurice’). Before long, though, his practices were being widely imitated, and when his son, Laurent, joined him in the late ‘80s, they put the ‘Combier’ name on their produce. They also began expanding their vineyard holdings, with Laurent leading the charge, and today the domaine includes about 20 acres of vines in several villages—all of them in close proximity to the Hermitage hill above Tain. One of the Combiers’ immediate neighbors is another Crozes-Hermitage master, Alain Graillot.
The 2015 “Clos des Grives” is not your average ‘pop and pour’ kind of wine. Patience, as you’ll see, is a virtue: there’s a lot going on here and the wine needs air and time to show its best. The old-vine fruit is hand-harvested and 100% destemmed before fermentation on ambient yeasts in stainless steel tanks, followed by about a year of aging in 25% new French oak. As we’ve noted repeatedly in recent offers, the 2015 vintage is known for great concentration and lots of ‘early drinking’ wines, but this particular 2015 didn’t really behave that way—it is rich and eminently drinkable after appropriate exposure to air, but it also has an underlying structure that suggests long aging potential. In the glass, it is a dark purple with magenta highlights at the rim, with aromas of black raspberry, plum, and blueberry, damp violets, crushed graphite, lavender, black olive, wild herbs, and black pepper. It is full-bodied yet remarkably fresh—a powerful wine that nevertheless has a lot of lift and a long, aromatic finish. It will age gracefully for 10-20 years under proper cellar conditions, but there’s enough appeal in its youth enjoy it right away as well: decant it about 60-90 minutes before serving at 60-65 degrees in large Burgundy stems. If you are buying multiple bottles, try one now and age the rest as long as you can, as it is truly worth the wait! This is a wine that consistently challenges much-pricier Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie bottlings—set up a blind tasting and see for yourself. Nothing less than a showy, aromatic rack of lamb will do for a Rhône red of this magnitude. The attached recipe looks appropriately decadent—enjoy!
