Jean-Luc Colombo "Les Abeilles" Côtes du Rhône Rouge, Rhône Valley, France 2018

60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre

Jean-Luc Colombo has forged an international reputation as one of the most visionary and imaginative winemakers in France's Rhône Valley and especially Cornas.

Les Abeilles (The Bees) is a blend of red southern Rhône grapes, giving this medium-bodied, velvety wine intriguing aromas of red fruit and flowers, licorice and spice against a backdrop of smooth, silky tannins.

This wine is named for bees — those crucial yet fragile creatures which play an essential role in biodiversity through pollination. Sadly their hives are threatened by a condition called Colony Collapse Disorder. The Colombo family keeps their own hives in the Rhône Valley and actively supports research to eradicate the threat against bees by donating a potion of the sale of this bottle to honey bee research.