'01 Combier Clos des Grives Crozes

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drssouth

Stephen South
2001 Domaine Combier "Clos des Grives" Crozes-Hermitage, alc 13%, $33....some browing at the edges and lightening of color...nose is a bit of sour fruit...palate starts with some leather and garrigue then mellows out fairly quickly....the finish is a bit short....
I do believe I missed the peak of this wine (at least this bottle of it) by a couple of years....good for those who like our wine a bit longer in the tooth (and I do)
 
A decent Crozes-Hermitage shouldn't have any problem going eleven years, especially from a vintage such as 2001. I've always found Combier's wines to be very modern in style, though, so I am not surprised that it seems over the hill already.
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
A decent Crozes-Hermitage shouldn't have any problem going eleven years, especially from a vintage such as 2001. I've always found Combier's wines to be very modern in style, though, so I am not surprised that it seems over the hill already.
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Claude, you and others have made the point in the past that the Crozes AOC incorporates land above the river valley. Is your thesis statement true across the board, or only for those wines of superior terroir? (It's kind of a moot point since I don't buy Crozes from the inferior terroir if I can help it)

Mark Lipton
 
Mark -- It's true that there is very little land in the Crozes appellation that is on hillsides. Still, I stand by my statement for all Crozes wines no matter where the vineyard is located based on experience from decent producers with grapes grown on flat land. They may be less interesting wines to begin with, but they can and should age for a decent amount of time. Graillot's vines and Jaboulet's Domaine de Thalabert provide two notable examples, but there are plenty more. It's true that Clos des Grives may not be in one of the best sections of Crozes flatland (which doesn't seem to affect the praise it achieves in some quarters and the high prices asked for it), but still, others such as Darnaud, are in the same area and make significantly better wine IMO.
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
It's true that Clos des Grives may not be in one of the best sections of Crozes flatland (which doesn't seem to affect the praise it achieves in some quarters and the high prices asked for it), but still, others such as Darnaud, are in the same area and make significantly better wine IMO.
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Yeah, but do they use concrete eggs?
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
Mark -- It's true that there is very little land in the Crozes appellation that is on hillsides. Still, I stand by my statement for all Crozes wines no matter where the vineyard is located based on experience from decent producers with grapes grown on flat land. They may be less interesting wines to begin with, but they can and should age for a decent amount of time. Graillot's vines and Jaboulet's Domaine de Thalabert provide two notable examples, but there are plenty more. It's true that Clos des Grives may not be in one of the best sections of Crozes flatland (which doesn't seem to affect the praise it achieves in some quarters and the high prices asked for it), but still, others such as Darnaud, are in the same area and make significantly better wine IMO.
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Thanks!

Mark Lipton
 
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