This is only the second vintage from Domaine des Croix’s Combe Bazin, a steep, stony site on white soils. Croix’s parcel covers a single hectare. The vines are not in great shape, so they deliver microscopic yields. Croix is replanting the vineyard with mass-selection cuttings. There will be a break in production following the current release while Croix waits for his new vines to mature.
The grapes are lightly crushed, followed by a gentle, three-hour press and the wine then ferments (wild) and ages for one year on lees in used 500-litre barrels before another six months in concrete. Croix notes that the archetypal Combe Bazin is a Saint-Romain that “fills out the palate”, and that is exactly what you get here: generosity balanced with juicy freshness and coolness from the terroir’s shallow limestone soils and high altitude. A bargain.