Tasted in Chablis with Romain Collet, 13 May 2024.
Domaine Jean Collet & Fils
15 avenue de la Liberté
89800 Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 42 11 93
www.domaine-collet.fr
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Romain on the 2024 hail:
“I had some worries. I was travelling but the reports looked bad – it’s rare for such a large area to be affected. We see 25 of our 40 hectares affected with 30-70% damage – that’s our first impression – Vaillons is bad, but not all is bad – the entry of Montmains too – but less-so Butteaux and Forets. Let’s see if the opposing buds bring something – the right bank is generally okay.”
Romain on 2023:
“I’m happy with the harvest we are even selling to a couple of wines from 2023… It was another warm and early vintage. The market seems good for now – it’s going well in all sectors.”
Romain on 2022:
“It’s top – we had some important rain at the start of the year which helped a lot – that and some more rain in August – these saved the vintage for volume. The plateaus with lots of clay suffered. But we had nice things. We are lucky with the harvest volume for this and 2023, two good vintage volumes before the currently difficult year.”
The wines…
It’s always a pleasure to taste here – simply excellent, sometimes great wines – look out for their brilliant 2022 aligoté too !!
All diam here except for the two grand crus, all new labels for the domaine since 2020 – ‘similar to grandfather’s labels’ – simple and clean.’
2023(!) Petit Chablis
Bottled about a month
A good airy attractive nose. In the mouth, it’s both juicy and saline – it could only come from here – it’s excellent. Long and mineral…
2022 Chablis
15 hectares of vines represented here.
More direct, sleek and seemingly mineral aromatic. In the mouth too – more direct and intense – the essence of citrus – a perfect morning wake me up… That’s an excellent villages…
2922 Chablis Vallée de Valvan
The other side of Montmains, certified organic – all tank elevage with longer elevage – November bottling after 23 harvest. Kimmerigian here.
Here is more width of aroma. In the mouth the same but with a more melting, saline, complexity – I almost find a more right bank style to this. Long and excellent too – just a little more melting softness than the previous Chablis…
2022 Chablis La Truffière
Organic for many years – also from Villy on a south-facing Portlandian slope.
From Villy on Portlandian so a different style to the last.
A more floral perfume comes from this glass. Large, more melting and a little more fluid in style. A little perfumed like the nose, finishing with a saline shimmer and an extended mineral note…
2022 Chablis 1er Montmains
Only stainless-steel elevage here. From 4 parcels of true Montmains amounting to 5 hectares. The only 1er cru with no wood in the elevage.
Airy, pretty but seemingly more sturdy too. Extra width and more intensity at the same time – a small accent of sweetness from this riper fruit – the finish larger too… Just a little citrus skin and texture to finish…
2022 Chablis 1er Butteaux
0.72 ha one parcel, organic since 2008. Planted in 1972. Alcoholic fermentation in tank then moved to wood.
Finer, if less intense – it’s a lovely invitation. Clean, pure but here for the first time with a little barrel flavour – that’s from the elevage but the vinification was in tank. Long finishing – that will be really super but wait 2 years for the oak to fade.
Bought in 2005, replanted in 2008, 0.92 hectares. 10% oak here – this time the vinification was also done in wood. Then some concrete eggs for elevage too.
Perfumed – beautifully perfumed. Larger scale and more flavour energy – that’s a great one – fluid, complex – bravo – so long too.
2022 Chablis 1er Vaillons
10 hectares here – lucky it’s mum’s favourite – ‘I can’t understand that anyone wouldn’t like it’ she says! From Epinottes, Minot, Encieres, Chatains and en Vaillons. 5% in barrel the rest in tank – after malo one part goes into older barrels.
Also a nicely floral nose – a lovely invitation. More direct and melting – the structure more visible, less width too but classy clarity of flavour – a beautiful Vaillons!
2022 Chablis 1er Secher
50% jar, 50% new oak – made like this since 2019 – a small cuvée from 0.25 ha, here since 2008, ‘for experimenting :)’
More creamy-accented ripe fruit in this wide base of aroma. The oak is the most obvious here the generous shape and weight of fruit too. If you like the wood you can already appreciate this now – I’d be waiting about 5 years but the finishing is sooo impressively long, slowly fading…
2022 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
Larger format – 600-l – barrels for all of this.
An airy width of slightly soft but attractive aroma. The impression in the mouth is similar – slightly cushioned but amply generously flavoured. Holding onto a strong finish. Keep this for three years to add direction and more tension – but it’s clearly already delicious !!
2022 Chablis Le Montée de Tonnerre
2 parcels – one of 0.25 plus another of 1.80 in Les Chapots. ‘The smaller brings a richness, the other, a colder area, brings that tension and vivacity.’ All oak but only 5% new…
Really pure, really floral – already a great nose. A wine that bubbles with energy, slowly growing in flavour intensity – despite the first impression there’s admirable, mineral, calm to these flavours. The finish with beautiful intensity and a faint chalky finishing texture – Super wine!
2022 Chablis Valmur
Larger scaled aromas with a little boiled sweet complexity to this fruit. Weight but freshness combined – a modest generosity but not lacking an iota of balance. Modestly oaked in this finish – wait 3-5 years for more tension and less oak but what a delicious wine already !!
One parcel of 0.16 hectares. First vintage 2013 now on fermage. As always, sold out here – they make 1,200 bottles…
Extra breadth of aroma – with the same oak that you taste in the finish of the Valmur – but there’s more aromatic complexity too – this more towards the florals than the boiled sweet fruit of the last. Large, mouth-filling be also generous wine. The oak is stronger in character than the Valmur – I wouldn’t hesitate to wait 5+ years in this case – but what a great wine, one of texture, complexity, concentration but also fine balance !!
2022 St.Bris
Different labelling for these ‘non-Chablis’ wines. Vines from one parcel in the entry of St.Bris – a contract since 2019.
Airy fresh, good definition. Hmm – a different world here – fruit – Bonbons Anglais (boiled sweets) again but this time in the flavours. Faintly minty sauvignon but then a warmth of tasty finishing flavours. So much to love here…
From the high part of Irancy – 4 ha but first time bottled. The last vines harvested – 14° natural !! ‘I’m looking for the concentration.’
A smaller but finely defined fresh nose of lovely detail – that’s really attractive. Mouth-filling, generous, beautifully textured. Ooh, that’s layered and mouth-watering and a gorgeous aligoté – Bravo !!
2022 Irancy
All destemmed, no pigeage, just remontage in 2022.
Pretty red fruit aromas with a suggestion of barrel at the base. Large scale in the mouth, lovely velvet texture – no hardness to this shape. The middle and finishing flavours are generously oaked so I’d be waiting 2-3 years for this but this is generously delicious wine – enjoy !!