A Beautiful Harvest – Quality & Quantity!
September 2024
Provence
We had a lovely, sunny chat with François Combard, who has just finished the 2024 Provence harvest and is very positive about this vintage. They harvested grapes that were impeccably healthy and in good quantities, enabling them to press them even more gently to extract that gorgeous rosé colour.
Figuière boasts three organic vineyards in three different regions, each with its own climate. This year, the quality is there for all the terroirs!
Figuière, a historic vineyard in La Londe on schist soils with views of the Mediterranean Sea
Clos Fanny in Collobrières, a mosaic vineyard with plots nestled in the heart of the Maures massif mountains, surrounded by typically Mediterranean vegetation.
Barbeiranne in Pignans with vineyards surrounded by low dry stone walls
This year, in Barbeiranne, where the 4th Figuière harvest is taking place, the crop has suffered neither from hail nor mildew, unlike in previous years. The harvest is magnificent! This morning, the estate harvested some superb Syrahs, and the Mourvèdres are also very fine. The punching of the cap was done very gently, and the wines in progress are tasting very well.
A look back at the climate of the vintage
It was a mild winter, as François Combard notes that there were no days below 0°C in La Londe, only 4°C in Collobrières and 13°C in Barbeiranne.
The Spring followed mimicking Northern France’s Brittany region, with cool temperatures, and above all very frequent showers, with rain coming every week from early Spring to mid-June. Bud-break was not very early, so the vines maturation period returned to more ‘normal’ calendar.
While the rain was a very good thing for the water reserves, which were able to replenish, these weather conditions were also perfect for the development of mildew, which had to be monitored and contained.
Similarly, the grassed and seeded inter-rows between the vines were very profuse and grew high this year, turning into lots of straw and therefore a potentially good quantity of organic matter transferred back to the soil when they were gently rolled over to cover the ground.
Flowering took place in complicated conditions for the early varieties such as Semillon and Grenache, coinciding with a cool period due to the strong Mistral wind, resulting in run-off and irregular fruiting.
This had repercussions right through to harvesting, forcing us to take breaks in the middle of the harvest to give the grapes time to ripen. For some grape varieties, several passes had to be made through the plots. This meant a lot of organisational work for the 2 teams of pickers. But it was a job that ensured a quality harvest when the grapes were ripe.
From the end of June onwards, the weather shifted completely and the classic forecast of Provence returned, becoming sunny and very hot. As a result, vegetative development accelerated, and rain a little later in the season prevented any blockages in ripening.
The grapes harvested this year are really very beautiful and unaffected by drought.
Night harvesting to pick cooled, fresh grapes that go immediately to the cellar
White wine production at Figuière
The white wines of the Combard family need no introduction, since they were the first style of wines produced at the estate in 1992 when Alain Combard moved the family to Figuière. Having vinified white wine for years in Chablis at Domaine Laroche, he was in his natural element with the white grapes of Provence.
Since then, Provence whites have always been produced and for several years now the vineyards have been replanted. Today, they account for 20% of the estate’s total production.
Grapes of Rolle vines – provençal name for Vermentino
The grape varieties are Sémillon (which brings maturity and fullness), Ugni Blanc (which brings freshness and acidity), Clairette (which brings aromatic delicacy) and above all Rolle, the estate’s favourite grape variety, which thrives in the schist soils of La Londe!
The 2024 vintage produced a generous Rolle. It’s an irregular grape variety that sometimes produces very little.
Neither early nor late, it flowered outside the period when the Mistral wind was blowing, flowering was very regular and the grapes were harvested with good, even ripeness.
François Combard is having fun in the cellar
François Combard loves his vines, which he tends to and maintains with passion and seriousness. If you’re looking for him, there’s usually a good chance you’ll find him in one of the estate’s plots.
But during the harvest, he also loves the cellar, and this year he admits to having fun with the fermentations and ageings. Winegrowers like to experiment, and that’s certainly the case at Figuière. And he’s already coming up with inspired ideas for the 2024 vintage…
Barrels have been purchased for the white wines. A variety of coopers and oak origins are used to test and taste each one’s toast. The estate prefers to age several wines in barrels or casks, so as not to have any marked “oakiness” imprint on the wines, and to have a very smooth ageing process.
Four barrels of 500-litre Clairette were vinified with pieds de cuve, using indigenous yeast. To make these pieds de cuve, around 5% of the total volume of the harvest is taken a week before the start of the picking. The harvest is highly selective, with the best grapes being chosen, pressed and fermented on their own.
Then, when the harvest really gets under way and the musts are ready, the yeast-rich pieds de cuve are added, which quickly colonise the sweet grape must, and kick-start fermentation.
As we write these lines, we can’t wait to taste this vintage, but in the meantime, we can still enjoy the current vintages.
Below is a list of the wines currently available from the estate in all three colours. The estate also offers fruity, young rosés and a more complex range of rosés, Pionnière and Confidentielle, which are sold with 1 or 2 years’ bottle ageing.
Wines Currently Available
Rosé wines range vintage 2023
IGP Méditerranée 2023 – fresh & fruity
Blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah & Cabernet Sauvignon
AOC Côtes de Provence Magali 2023 – fruity & minéral
Blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah & Cabernet Sauvignon
AOC Côtes de Provence Première 2023 – Mineral & crisp – Organic Certified
Blend of Cinsault, Grenache & Mourvèdre
Rosé wines aged in bottle
AOC Côtes de Provence La Londe – Confidentielle 2022 – Mineral, fruity, spicy – BIO
Blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache & Cinsault
AOC Côtes de Provence Pionnières 2021 – Rich & complex – BIO
Blend of Mourvèdre & Grenache – vinified & aged in barrel
Sparkling rosé wine
Atmosphère – traditional method with prise de mousse using grape juice from the vintage
Blend of Cinsault & Grenache
Delicate bubbles with very ripe fruit
White Wines range:
vintage 2023
IGP Méditerranée White 2023 – 100% Rolle fresh and fruity
AOC Côtes de Provence Valérie 2023
Vermentino blended with Ugni Blanc, Clairette and Sémillon, vinified together in vats and matured on lees.
AOC Côtes de Provence Première 2023 Organic Certified
Vermentino & Sémillon – vinified separately in vats, matured on lees
AOC Côtes de Provence Confidentielle 2023 Organic Certified
PURE Vermentino – 30% vinified and aged in barrel and 70% in vat
Red Wines Range – Fruity to Complex
IGP Méditerranée 2023 – Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Cinsault
AOC Côtes de Provence François 2021 – Syrah Cabernet Mourvèdre
AOC Côtes de Provence Première 2023 Organic Certified
Syrah, Mourvèdre vinified and matured separately – 6 to 8 months maturing in 300-litre barrels
AOC Côtes de Provence Confidentielle 2021 Organic Certified
Syrah and Mourvèdre vinified together – rare, made possible by the north-facing Syrah parcel. Aged for one year in 300-litre barrels.
