Description
Maybe a touch more concentrated than Colombo's la Louvée bottling but also having a slightly coarser, more open-knit texture, the 2018 Cornas les Ruchets leads off with hints of mint, fennel, crushed stone and blackberries. It's full-bodied and rich, expansive and generous without crossing over into being jammy, with savory notes of black olives and roast meat to balance out the ripe fruit and a lingering, softly tannic finish.
Based in Cornas, the Colombo family—headed by Jean-Luc, his wife Anne and increasingly assisted by their daughter Laure—reaches up and down the Rhône and beyond for their négociant bottlings. While I've found some of those efforts to be inconsistent over the years, there's no denying the passion for Cornas that comes through in those wines. The 2018s are all excellent, from the entry-level Terres Brulées to the extravagantly priced, micro-production Vallon de l'Aigle.