Colombier

Colombier is the French municipality 24126 in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It belongs to the Bergerac arrondissement and to the canton of Sud-Bergeracois. The municipality is located in the wine-growing region South-West France as well as within the geographical areas of the Bergerac and Côtes de Bergerac appellations.

The Bergerac wine-growing region has a moderated oceanic climate. Compared with the Atlantic coast, summers are relatively warmer and winters colder. Atlantic influences reach the region via the Dordogne valley; the wetter months are December, January and May, while from July to September there is less rainfall.

The landscape is shaped by successive slopes and hillsides with different exposures. Geological formations and soils include limestone, sands of the Périgord, clay and gravel, as well as alluvial clay-gravel soils on terraces of the Dordogne.

The Château de la Jaubertie has 42 hectares of vineyard area in Colombier at the edge of the Monbazillac appellation area. The vineyards have been certified as organic since 2008; the conversion began in 2005. On the plateaus there is reddish-brown clay over white limestone, while the slopes show a great deal of limestone and the damper lower-lying areas have grey clay soils, known as Boulbène.

The estate produces organic AOP wines from Bergerac in red, white and rosé, as well as AOP Monbazillac wines. The cuvée “Colombier” 2019 is a red wine produced using three days of cold maceration, natural fermentation in tank, malolactic fermentation in cask, and two years of maturation in new French 225-litre oak barrels.

On the grounds of the Château de la Jaubertie there are archaeological indications of a Neolithic settlement. In the 12th century the place is documented as a fief; in the 16th century it served King Henry IV as a hunting lodge. Since 1973 the château has belonged to the Ryman family and since 2005 it has been listed as a historic monument.