Jean-Luc Colombo Côtes du Rhône Villages 'Le Bonne Roch' 2013

When winemakers make wine, they are painting. They may not wear stripy tops and live bohemian lifestyles, but are artists nonetheless and they take their inspiration and their materials from the land around them.

In this instance, the materials are the gentle slopes of the southern Rhône, plentiful sun, which provide enough warmth for the grapes to reach ripeness. They then have the after-effects of the Mistral wind, which tears through the northern Rhône and arrives downstream, offering grapes a gentle respite from the Mediterranean sun.

In the hands of the artists at Jean-Luc Colombo, they turn this palate into a bold, firmly-structured, fine-grained, beauty of a painting.

Jean-Luc Colombo is a relatively young company by French wine standards. In 1982 the family moved to Cornas, in the heart of the Rhône Valley and purchased the first vineyard in 1986. Today, as well as owning vineyards in Cornas, they are pioneering vineyard development in the stunning blue coast area in Provence and have their own winery, bottling line and oenology laboratory in the centre of Cornas.

Their philosophy is classic: it is about respecting the fruit, with vinification and elevage (post-vinification) that aims to exalt elegance and complexity, with good fruit and freshness and balanced minerality, alcohol and tannins.

Jean-Luc Colombo’s wines provide exceptional quality for everyday Rhône drinking. Jean-Luc originally ran his own pharmacy and oenology laboratory before deciding to produce his own range. Husband, father and winemaker, he is a charismatic figurehead with the affectionate nickname of ‘the winemaking wizard of the Rhône valley’.

The grapes are harvested manually in small cases and the bunches are de-stemmed and lightly crushed.

A vibrant blend of Grenache and Syrah with a touch of Mourvèdre produces a lovely lifted wine, with floral and richly fruited characters. Firm and spicy, it has finely grained tannins and a balanced finish.