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Wine Tasting Adventure

2020 Domaine Barge, Côte-Rôtie `Coeur de Combard` - Liberty

£76.99 GBP
£76.99 GBP

Seven generations of the Barge family have made wine in Ampuis, starting in 1860. Their first bottled wine appeared in 1929, and the domaine is now run by Julien Barge, who took over from his father, Gilles, in 2019.

Domaine Barge have six hectares of vines in Côte-Rôtie, with three hectares in the lieu-dit ‘Le Combard’ acquired in 2000. After rebuilding the stone terraces, replanting the vines and installing a monorail due to the steepness of the vineyard, the first vintage of 'Le Combard' was released in 2007. These steep vineyards require all the grapes to be hand-harvested. As is tradition, Julien’s Côte-Rôtie contains a little Viognier, with 8% in ‘Le Coeur de Combard’. Fermentation occurs in small, temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks before the wines are aged in 600-litre oak barrels for 24 months.

Julien decided to create a blend from his parcels of ‘Côte Blonde’ and ‘Le Combard’ to produce a Côte-Rôtie that serves as a flagship for this famed appellation. The resulting expression has layers of concentrated black fruit, tapenade and crushed stone, all hallmark signatures of great Côte-Rôtie. The ‘Coeur de Combard’ is a parcel from the single vineyard ‘Le Combard’ and is, to Julien’s knowledge, the only parcel in Côte-Rôtie planted on volcanic soils. The fragrant violet notes, peppery herbs, and a distinct mineral elegance capture the unique character of this parcel.

The Syrah and Viognier grapes for the 'Coeur de Combard' are sourced from the 'Le Combard' lieu-dit. A remarkable vineyard site, believed to be the only parcel planted on volcanic soils in the whole of Côte-Rôtie. Given the vineyard's vertiginous gradient, it had been abandoned after the Second World War. The Barge family acquired the parcel in 2000 and set about painstakingly rebuilding the stone terraces, replanting the vines and installing a monorail. The vines are between 40 to 60 years old and given how steep the site is, all vineyard work and harvesting is done by hand.

The 2020 vintage in Cornas proved to be a classical and well-balanced season, characterised by warm but not excessive heat, generally dry conditions punctuated by just enough rainfall, and ideal ripening cycles. Early warmth promoted healthy vine growth and fruit set, while well-timed rain and the region’s granite soils preserved freshness and helped build structure. As harvest approached, temperatures remained dry with moderate heat, allowing grapes to mature slowly and evenly.

Upon arrival at the winery, the hand-harvested Syrah and Viognier grapes were crushed and underwent fermentation in small, temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks with punch downs and pump overs to extract optimum levels of colour and tannin. Following fermentation, the wines were aged large 600 litre French oak foudres for 24 months, before the final blend was assembled and bottled.

The 2020 ‘Coeur de Combard’ is fragrant and complex with notes of violets, tea leaves and black pepper framing the dark fruit. The palate is supple and concentrated, with a juicy core of black cherry, fine-grained tannins providing structure, and poised acidity. The finish is long and spicy.