Hermitage Colombier (Domaine du) 2009

Lot presentation

Hermitage Colombier (Domaine du) 2009

The wine

Hermitage from Domaine du Colombier comes from Syrah grown on the plot of Beaume which is characterised by sandy and stony soils. Harvested by hand, the bunches are destemmed at 50% and aged for 3 weeks in temperature-controlled vats. The wine is then aged 18 months in demi-muid barrels. David and Florent Viale here present a very fine coloured wine. Aromatic and complex on the nose (with fruity and roasted notes), it is indulgent on the palate. Fleshy in texture, its tannins melt over time. Elegant but powerful, we recommended opening the bottle at least two hours before serving. This hermitage often works wonders with a lamb tajine with prunes.

Spread over 16 hectares in the Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage appellations, Domaine du Colombier is a family property run by David and Florent Viale. Syrah is the variety of choice with 13 hectares planted to produce the red Crozes-Hermitages. The white Crozes-Hermitages is made from the 1.4 hecatres of Marsanne vines. 2 parcels in the Beaumes and Les Diognières lieux-dits allows the domain to produce AOC Hermitage as well. David et Florent arrived in the 1990s and implemented big changes at the domaine. They made the decision to sell the wines under the domaine's name rather than the negociant's, a decision that made these wines become hugely popular and lauded by critics such as Robert Parker.