Tasted with Isabelle Collotte in Marsannay-la-Côte, 02 September 2021.
Earl Collotte
44 Rue de Mazy
21160 Marsannay-la-Côte
Tel: +33 9 63 50 33 42
More reports with Domaine Collotte.
Isabelle on 2020:
“2020 is a small vintage in quantity – maybe just a little less than in 2019 – but one that preserved a lovely acidity, despite the summer dryness, so the wines are not heavy and have lovely balance. The dryness means not much rosé this year as this is a very stony area, so suffered the most from the lack of rain. Our whites and Bourgognes are in their bottling phase but all the rest will slowly be done by the end of the year, after 2 months in tank, after assembling, to stabilise them. I find that a lot of usually more masculine wines show a softer side in 2020…”
The wines…
A delicious range in 2020 – and some worth a special search. Well-done!
Thats a lovely nose, slightly floral and pure – very attractive. Supple, tasty, layered – an absolutely delicious start to this tasting – bravo!
2017 Marsannay, Champs Salomon
Deep colour. Dark fruit – but a fine texture to this fruit, very faintly spiced too. More open, more class to the flavour – sweetly delicious – with weight but also freshness of flavour. Just a little lick of finishing tannin too – but no grain.
2020 Marsannay Boivins
Tighter, deeper but still with fine aromatic purity. More direct acidity but with delicately floral energy and even a touch of licorice. 1996 in style but likely to be drinking magnificently for the next 2-4 years I think before the acidity has the upper hand.
2020 Marsannay Grasses Têtes
2017 – the First vintage
A nose that’s finer and more floral-inflected after the others – ‘But the work in the vines is the same,‘ underlines Isabelle. A higher-toned and more forward aroma of red fruit with an airy perfume. Wide, more red-fruited and more structural too – take your time with this but there’s fine material here.
2020 Marsannay Combereau
‘Often the most masculine wine.’
More airy and perfumed – that’s lovely. More saline. It’s structured like the Grasses-Têtes but a little less hard today. Impressively mineral – come here for the impressive shape and complexity as opposed to easy fruit!
2020 Marsannay Champ Salomon
A more vertical nose but also with a lovely perfume above a small reduction. Fuller, rounder, a modestly velvet texture. Holding very well in the finish.
2020 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles
The domaine is the only owner of Evocelles in Gevrey – as opposed to Brochon
A vibrant, high-toned width of aroma. Nicely structural, a little unready in the flavours but nice shape and perfume.
Thats a very wide and almost fruit cordial style of nose – one to fall into! Good acidity, layers of flavour, of course, a little more structural but bravo – thats a super Fixin – it has the material for old bones but I’d be demolishing these bottles in the first three years – with abandon!
2020 Chambolle-Musigny
80% aux Echanges plus Athets and les Chardannes
Ooh, thats nice! A perfumed and darker fruit – nicely defined and accented with cooking herbs. Great, structural, fresh shape in the mouth – the acidity is forward, not painful but given the shape I’d be tempted to drink this on the younger side, like the Boivin – and for the same reason. Excellent wine with a reprise of fine flavour in the finish. Lovely!
2020 Fixin Champs Tions
A fine but much more compact nose, growing with perfume with air. Hmm, this is really excellent, there’s a relaxed structure and concentration to this wine, faintly coffee accented flavours, not as perfumed as some but really a very complete Fixin – simply excellent despite a little reduction today.
Les whites:
2020 Marsannay Blanc
Plenty of colour. Here’s a nose of energy and a sweetness to the slightly tropical fruit – just a suggestion of oak too but no more. In the mouth, this is silky and has a little tropical fruit richness. Wide finishing, more mineral in style. I find this very good.
2020 Fixin Blanc
A more subdued, almost musky nose – with air I see more freshness and energy. A more vibrant and mineral width of flavour here – quite saline too. The nose is a little dumb today but became quite interesting and the flavour is excellent. I’m not usually a fan of white Fixin but this is one of the best that I’ve tasted!