Domaine Combel la Serre

Domaine Combel la Serre

【A natural grower breathing new life into Cahors】

Seventeen kilometres from Cahors, on the edge of the limestone causse, Combel la Serre is a 23-hectare family domaine founded on the conviction of Jean-Pierre Ilbert, who decided in 1998 to leave the local cooperative and strike out on his own.

His son Julien came back to the estate in 2003 and now works alongside his wife Sophie. Little by little the couple have given the domaine a second wind.

That has meant converting to organic farming, certified by Ecocert; a return to hand work through every season of the year; and constant reflection on the domaine's many terroirs, always with respect for nature.

In 2014, prompted by the birth of their son, Sophie and Julien took the full measure of how rich those terroirs are. They rethought their soils, set certain parcels apart, blended others, and rebuilt the entire range. Today they make a wide variety of cuvées in Cahors and Vin de France, several of them single-parcel selections.