Tasted almost in Villé-Morgon with Fabien Collonge, 16 February 2017.
Fabien Collonge
Le Truges
69910 Villé Morgon
Tel: +33 6 30 02 63 18
www.fabien-collonge.com
Fabien on 2016:
“We were twice hailed, so lost a lot, perhaps half in the first hail, then again. We probably lost 70% in Chiroubles – Morgon was less bad. The storm was at the time of grape formation, so it wasn’t about quality, but certainly about quantity. The domaine was overall about 25-39% down as our Morgon parcels were much less touched. Still, we had great maturity – mainly because there were less grapes to ripen! It took a lot of work to get the vines back into good shape. The Chiroubles reminds me of the style of 2010…the grapes were really ripe, it’s more of a question of quantity…”
Fabien on 2015:
“With the dryness we probably lost about 20-25% of the volume. I decided not to sell anything in bulk. Really the loss was down to the size of the grapes, so in the end there really wasn’t a lot of juice to extract! I think it’s really a special vintage but one to keep…”
The wines…
2016 Beaujolais Rosé
In bottle 1 month about… no saigné, just press juice. 80% malo done…
A fresh and forward nose, soft red fruit and a nice rigour. Hmm, super fresh (it’s cold!) wide, delicious wine. Excellent. It’s aromatic in the mouth too!
2016 Chiroubles l’Aurore des Côtes
A quick view, probably first bottled in May or June.
Really deep and dark fruit with a freshness of herb and a subtle pyrazine/floral. Wide to start, slowly growing in volume, fine fresh acidity and lots of energy. This is very tasty already – let’s see how it develops – a nice saline edge to the flavour in the mid-palate and finish. Very long…
‘A small vintage in volume, a big vintage in quality – hyper-concentrated, lots of sugar. A grand millésime de garde – references are 2009, 2005… Harvested 1st September, destemmed about 40% which allows me to lengthen the cuvaison while avoiding anything vegetal from the stems. The lieu-dit is called Côte Roti with a direct south-facing exposure.‘
What a colour! Transparent but very dark! Deep, ripe yet still fresh – a sumptuous dark-fruited nose. Big in the mouth – really lots of volume but all the edges are smooth, plenty of tannin but ripe and modestly grained – really a super intensity without sharpness and a weight of great flavour. This is beauty – bravo! – and such a lovely, slowly fading finish – long, long…
From Corcelettes
Also a great, deep, but transparent colour. A little wider, still dark fruit but maybe a little riper and spicier. Fresh, cool fruit, mineral, layers and a growing intensity of flavour. Becoming more direct. Great wine. Last year I preferred the Chiroubles, this year it’s a harder choice. Great flavour and there’s a burst of floral flavour in the finish too – perhaps I give this the honour today.
2013 Chiroubles l’Aurore des Côtes
I find a lot of 2013s not quite ready, but this has a generous and floral-edged nose that’s very attractive indeed. Wide, with some notes of advancement, the structure perhaps needs another year or so but like the nose, the flavours are both generous and inviting. Finishing flavour a nice burst of flowers.