Domaine de Lorient

Cornas 2023

Name: Cornas 2023
Brand: Domaine de Lorient
SKU: LORIENTcornas23
Price: 93.0 USD
Availability: InStock

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Domaine de Lorient is an exciting project created in 2014 by Laure Colombo and partner Dimitri Roulleau-Gallais. Laure is the daughter of Jean-Luc and Anne Colombo who figure amongst the Rhône's most influential winemakers – but right from the start, when she rejoined the family domaine in 2011, a fierce independence and ecological mindset guided her path and, encouraged by her family, she and Dimitri soon struck out on their own.

They restored a 20ha abandoned farm high above Saint-Péray at 550 metres in a lieu-dit called Lorient – this is the northern and granitic part of the St-Péray appellation (neighbouring Cornas) as opposed to the southern part characterised by its rocky limestone soil and the emblematic Château de Crussol.

The couple now live in the old, converted farmhouse and, farmers at heart, they work and live off produce grown on their land: fruit trees, vegetable beds, wild herbs and fruits, chickens, bees, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, olives and grapes all are part of their daily lives. Dimitri is at the fore on that front while the naturally talented Laure runs the show when it comes to winemaking.

The old farmhouse at Lorient, its pastures and long history of polyculture were among the reasons that drew Laure and Dimitri to this isolated spot – high up in the hills on the plateau above St-Péray, it takes at least 20mins driving up the tortuous roads from the village. The other draw was Lorient’s incredible terroir with its stunning coteau at 550m altitude made of 'gore' – shallow decomposed granite over bedrock. The potential for making one of the Rhône's finest whites was immediately evident!

The couple firmly believes that flora and fauna are an important element of terroir, so they work from seven micro parcels 'en coteau' scattered around the property and surrounded by forest and prairies. In addition, they planted over 500 trees (local species) – agroforestry has long been a passion of mother Anne Colombo, who as the winemaker at Colombo and President of the Cornas AC has been a major influence on Laure.

All the work on the domaine is done by hand, working as closely as possible and in step with nature; the tops of vines are not trimmed, instead they just arrange and weave the shoots during summer; cover crops are planted to create a mulch to protect the soils humus from the warming climate; the ground around the vines is lightly hand-hoed and any fertiliser applied is homemade, emanating from their own cows and horses.

From 2014 to 2018 they set out to plant all the vines themselves by massal – including some tip-top bergeron (roussanne) cuttings from Louis Magnin in Savoie – 4ha of the 20ha estate are now planted for the making of St-Péray wines. Another 1.5ha 'hors appellation' has been planted on the plateau above the farm with syrah, mondeuse noire, mondeuse blanche and dureza (the last two are syrah's ancestors, possibly parents cf. Wine Grapes). Domaine de Lorient also has holdings in St-Joseph (0.5ha) and Cornas (1ha).

From the get go, no efforts have been spared to make Domaine de Lorient one of the finest domaine in the Rhône: a unique terroir and haven for biodiversity at an altitude that allows to retain freshness and acidity despite global warming. Laure and Dimitri’s passion, attention to detail and love for their land is impressive as well as contagious – there's a special vibration up there at Lorient, and it's beautifully translated into their wines.

- VineTrail

Cornas 2023

Cornas 2023

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