Simon Colin – 2020

1.11.2021billn

Simon Colin - 2021Tasted in Chassagne-Montrachet with Simon Colin, 22 July 2021

Domaine Simon Colin
Impasse des Crets
21190 Chassagne-Montrachet
His Facebook page

I thank Bertrand Leulliette for the succinct summary of all things Colin:

The Colin family tree started with Pierre Colin who had three sons:
– Andre Colin, whose son is Marc Colin: father of Pierre-Yves, Joseph, Damien and Caroline
– Louis Colin, whose son is Bernard Colin: who sold his estate to the Picard family, now vinified under the Domaine Au Pied du Mont Chauve
– Francois Colin, whose son is Michel Colin-Deleger: father of Bruno and Philippe

Simon (28), the son of Philippe Colin, has his garage winery in Chassagne-Montrachet. He began with 9 barrels of wine in 2017 and now for the 2020s he has 28 – all his barrels currently come through contracts. Simon calls this négoce operation his laboratory, “When I started I didn’t have a lot of equipment but I think that’s how my grandfather and his father probably began their operations too. I just trust what I see! We have Bourgogne, Bouzeron and Rully at the base of the range, Chassagne in the middle and the 1ers towards the top.

Simon started to work with his dad in 2014, Philippe also working in Franschoek in South Africa. In 2017 Simon decided to go his own way and did an internship at Sauzet whilst at the same time starting his small négoce operation. Simon laughs, “You know, I also did an internship in Orgeon – but they made make the whites!

The 14 hectare Philippe Colin estate will be splitting between Simon and his father – Philippe has anyway been spending more and more time in South Africa – the larger part, 9.5 hectares, has been added to Simon’s activities in 2021. Philippe is currently keeping back 4.5 hectares – effectively the domaine’s grand crus.

The wines…

At this stage in the elevage I was sorry that I mainly give my heart to the guy from Chassagne’s Puligny wines rather than his Chassagnes – but with a bit more elevage the gaps may close. A very smart set of wines from this relatively new label in Chassagne – and highly recommended!

The 2019s are sold out but we can taste the 2020s from barrel, and all the fermentations are in barrel. The entry-level wines are DIAM-sealed, and cork is used for the villages and premiers – sourced from Italy ‘Where the cork grows slower and has more density:’

2020 Bouzeron Les Clous
Older barrel elevage.
A nicely vibrant, yellow citrus nose. Concentrated, vibrant, tasty wine – easy! Bravo Bouzeron.

2020 Bourgogne Chardonnay
1 new barrel from 6. ‘I dont like woody wines.’
A narrower nose but this is also a more mineral aroma. A mineral width of flavour too – a little less energy than the Bouzeron but it’s sensuously textured. Faintly floral on the finish. Excellent.

2020 Rully La Chaume
1 new barrel from 4
A bigger nose again, some vibration of aroma this time, getting finer and finer with aeration. In the mouth this the more intense wine, mineral but more saline and with super length.

2020 Chassagne-Montrachet
4 barrels – double what Simon had in 2019.
A narrow nose but a deep one too. Ripe citrus with mineral concentration. A big round wine, lip-smacking, concentrated, on the contemplative side rather than energetic right now. Impressive and probably excellent villages.

2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Chaumées
‘A mineral and chalky style as it’s on the St.Aubin side’ – just one barrel, 2 years old.
Wider, the aromas giving a textural impression – a super and most inviting nose. Super – mineral, fine energy – that’s a completely excellent 1er cru – great finishing too!

2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Vergers
‘Mid-slope with a bit more clay than the last so it’s more full-bodied’ – sitting below Les Chaumées
A tighter nose but it seems complex too. Hmm, thats a rather mineral wine though. More width of mouth-watering flavour here – 2 barrels worth – possibly with the potential for excellent.

2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Maltroie
A more airy, less dense, aromatic style. In the mouth, this is the most mineral and the freshest of all. Citrus accented and so good finishing.

2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
A vibrant nose in the middle. Still a hint of gas on the palate – and more diffuse showing because of that but with a super line of finishing flavour. Delicious but less together today…

2020 Puligny-Montrachet 1er La Garenne
Wow-floral – by far the best nose. More saline, beautifully vibrant. Opening wider and wider in the finish. More than excellent flavour, coupled with great aromatics… This could be a great wine.
2020 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Perrière
Only a modest weight of aroma but airy and fine. More sinuous and melting over the palate versus the Garenne – so great flavoured. Again delicious – this is a top quality Perrières. Great finishing too.

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