Among a number of decent wines over the holiday season:
2000 Jean Luc Colombo, Cornas La Louvee, Rhone
Pouring from the bottle the wine appears to be a blood red version of chocolate milk. Completely turbid. Somehow the palate is less chewy than the suspension-like presentation suggests. Dried herbs, aged leather, subtle cedar woodiness, hints of iron and tar with an underlying meatiness. Very slightly roasted fruit notes but certainly not overripe. Very nice acidity. The attack and finish are quite smooth with a satisfying richness. Resolved tannins. Rusticity without awkwardness. It’s not graced with the layering of a top Northern Rhone, yet there’s plenty of appeal. I think of JL Colombo as a modernist and here’s a wine that confronts my preconceptions about traditionalist preferences. (13.5% abv)
RT