Château Combel-la-Serre - Côtes du Lot La Vigne Juste Derrière Chez Carbo 2022

Jean-Pierre Ilbert founded Château Combel La Serre after leaving the cooperative winery in 1998. To promote the estate, the family traveled throughout France. The turning point came in 2011 when his son Julien and his wife Sophie decided to switch to organic farming (certification obtained in 2013). Together, they have breathed new life into this 26-hectare estate. As in Burgundy, everything is centered on plot-by-plot selection, highlighting the distinct terroirs in which they strongly believe, and creating stylish cuvées with modern labels. The grape varieties are traditional for the reds but more unconventional for the whites, featuring Vermentino and Albariño, which they are particularly fond of. The wines’ style is precise, fruit-forward, and clearly expressive of the terroir. This close-knit couple channels their ambition and enthusiasm into their wines.

As charming as ever, the handsome La Vigne—located right behind Carbo—has underlying fruitiness, but, unlike last year, we prefer the square-jawed structure of the Auxerrois made from whole-cluster fermentation.

Julien Ilbert and his wife Sophie are the driving force behind this vineyard, whose existence has been documented since 1900. Breaking with his father’s model, Julien shifted the focus to bottling; he set out to forge a new identity, adorning his various bottles with expressive and modern labels. His vintages are gaining in stature year after year. He draws the best from the 23 hectares planted with Auxerrois—the local name for Malbec—as well as his Vermentinos and Albariños, southern grape varieties that find here a soil and climate perfectly suited to them. Alongside the single-vineyard wines Le Lac aux Cochons (iron-rich limestone soil), Au Cerisier (red clay), and Les Peyres Levades (limestone), he is introducing new wines to the lineup that showcase the remarkable evolution of the Cahors vineyards.