PROFILES

“He passed on to us a domaine but above all else a vision and love of entertaining. My father would finish a meal by talking about the next one.”

It all started on an impulse. A liking for the mild Southern climate, then Alain Combard discovering the Saint André de Figuière estate in La Londe les Maures in 1992. This sea-oriented wine estate would become the ‘lungs’ of a family united by a passion for fine wine. The patriarch experienced his first emotions as a wine producer in Burgundy, a glass of Chablis in his hand, but it was in fact in Provence that he built his life project. “We spent our childhood in Burgundy, my father was a partner in Michel Laroche’s estate,” says Delphine Combard. Having achieved great success, Alain and his wife, from Saint Rémy de Provence and the hinterland of Nice, decided to return to their roots. The devotee was entirely won over by the quality of the organic wine being produced by the former owner, as well as the location of the vines. At the time, only the youngest of the children, Anne-Valérie, then aged 18, followed her parents, while the three older siblings were already living their own lives. François was the first to join the family business a few years later. The pair worked very well together until serious health problems pushed Alain Combard to make a radical decision: sell or join forces. “They had just acquired new hectares of land. Dad gave us a year to think about it and decide whether to join him or not.’’ A proposal that would mean a radical change of lifestyle for Magali living in Paris and Delphine in the Basque Country. «Our little sister who was living in the British Virgin Islands decided to stay in the Caribbean, we took part in the adventure.’’ They allocated tasks, and Alain Combard was the “maestro”. “When Dad passed away in 2015, it was unthinkable to choose a leader.’’ Since then, the three co-managers have never deviated from the path traced by their father. “He passed on to us a domaine but above all else a vision and love of entertaining. My father would finish a meal by talking about the next one.’’ And if everything has come together so naturally and seamlessly, Delphine says: ‘’It’s thanks to him. He had it all planned and gave us a great gift.’’

Par Caroline Stefani – Photo Thierry Vallier