Caroline Colin-Morey – 2019

24.12.2020billn

Caroline Colin-Morey 2020Tasted in Chassagne-Montrachet with Caroline Colin-Morey, 20 October 2020.

Domaine Caroline Colin-Morey
4 Rue de la Murée
21190 Chassagne-Montrachet
Tel: +33 3 80 21 90 10
Caroline Morey
More reports for Domaine Caroline Colin-Morey.

The 2020 vintage:
20 could be a bit more tannic and quantities could have been more – a particular year. We had the first leaves in confinement but they vines were not confined! Nice from the start without the cold spring that we had in 2019 – so we started harvesting already on 20 August, finishing with two small parcels in the Hautes Côtes 12 days later – the ripening was relatively easy to follow. The confinement meant that we were more in the vines as we couldn’t travel, there was a certain serenity to the year. No big worries about maladies. From 14 June to the harvest – no rain but volumes were correct in whites – less, but okay, in the reds. In Santenay we had a little rain and some places had more. St.Aubin suffered due to the dryness and its stony ground and there was some blockage of maturity in places. We have lower degrees in the whites compared to 2019 and the vinifications went quite easily in this case.

The 2019 vintage:
Whites were between minus-10% and minus-30% volume depending on the parcel. Their bottling will probably not be before March – they like their second winter of elevage. It’s the same style of vinification as in previous years

The wines…

On this tasting day, the whites were very good to excellent, but my stars were the reds – excellent to great wines. Generally, I’d give the reds here a bit of cellar time – you will be rewarded for that!

The wines were racked in June and July, then returned to barrels. Only the Criots hadn’t been racked when I visited.

2019 Santenay Les Cornières
Near the Château de la Crée. ‘This has the most of the lees removed before barreling as sometimes it brings a green character.’
That’s a bright and forward nose – squeaky clean and attractive. Nice energy, easy over the palate. Tasty wine, with a hint of finishing richness to the smooth texture – very persistent – tasty wine…

2019 Beaune 1er Grèves Blanc
Long rows of 4-500m shared with cousin, Thomas Morey, a mix of red and white, vines planted in 2001
A narrower but deeper nose – a little vibration of reduction. Some gas still, this has a more grapefruit style of citrus. Lovely finishing – sparkling with energy – that’s the best part.

2019 Chassagne-Montrachet Chambrées
The brand name of Caroline’s villages blend. 50-65 yo vines.
A little more weight of aroma in the middle. Mouth-filling, a faint reduction, almost a little tannic texture. Lovely intensity in the finish – direct and tasty here. That’s another great finish…

2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Champs Gain
Planted in 2009, lost 80% to the frost in 2016. This the fourth year with a longer (vs the villages) elevage like the other 1ers
More breadth of aroma and a more elegant width – this with some floral character. Mineral, faintly reductive – lovely transparency – a modest touch of oak. Fine finishing energy and complexity – a lot of class here.

2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Vergers
Another new parcel in 2016, actually two parcels. Vines predominantly 50-60 years old with a small younger plantation
Less volume of aroma, but another step up in terms of how much I like the aroma! Here a very fine and elegant layer of yellow citrus. Rounder in the mouth yet at the same time so very mineral. The clarity is absolutely super again. Intensity of direct, mouth-watering flavour here – simply top! Also with that slightly tannic finishing impression. Excellent wine.

2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Chaumées
Near Philippe Colin’s vines, near the quarry. Older vines with millerandes.
Hmm – that’s a lovely yellow citrus – less directly distinguished versus the previous two. Beautiful in the mouth though – the most width and superbly textured – the mineral aspects cushion here, also with some oak, so be patient. Wider, sparkly finishing like the Beaune but with a little more weight of flavour. That’s slightly contemplative but utterly delicious wine.

2018 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Caillerets
From the 3 different parts of this area – all the levels of the vines, different slopes, three different plantations, but the average is 45-50 year-old vines. From the road to the forest, a continuous line of vines from top to bottom vs the two separate parcels of PY ‘Not really timid but this is a wine that has shown very little early in its elevage, but we keep seeing a little more, so we hope it keeps going in this direction.’
A tighter nose today, a little airy and elegant for sure. Nicely mouth-filling, a delicious agrume fruit with just a faint suggestion of reduction behind. Ooh, that’s a super finish though, melting, mouth-watering. Long. A wine that’s hiding a lot of its character just now but that’s a beautiful finish…

​2018 Criots Bâtard-Montrachet
Third vintage, these vines not far from those of Leroy, but it’s the second vintage that they did everything as the vines were only theirs since November 2016 and they bought the harvest in that vintage.
A fuller nose, yellow fruited. Richer, more depth to the flavour and the texture – layers and layers of flavour are available to you here – contemplative wine – but swallow and there’s such a finishing burst of flavour – really a next step – proper GC finishing. Excellent Grand Cru!

Les rouges…
Only 3 pigeages on average, some wc in the wines from about 25% in the Santenay. 14-20 days of cuvaison…

2019 Santenay Le Chainey
2 parcels, this with about 25% whole clusters – a few remontages and 2-3 pigeages.
A nice medium-plus colour. Perfume of wc and a little graphite-style minerality below. A little CO2, but a wine that grows and fills the mouth with perfumed red fruit. Deliciously perfumed finishing too. Bravo!
2019 Santenay 1er Comme
Next to Chassagne-Embazées – young, 21-year-old vines. 35% whole-clusters
Medium, medium-plus colour once more. Even more depth of aroma, lots of wc perfume – this is even better. A little more mouth-filling, more depth to the flavour too – a suggestion of reduction behind. Drink the first wine before this – this needs a little time in the cellar – but it’s great Santenay.

2019 Chassagne-Montrachet
No name for this cuvée yet. Three parcels, one more in the plain. Some fine massale selections from Volnay here, these latter vines always keep with their stems.
Medium-plus colour. The wc is evident here too, but less forcefully – the width infused with red berry fruit. Some gas here – have to wait for it to dissipate – tannin of a similar order to the Comme but with a slightly more visible grain. I like the finishing shape and structure – here with a little astringence. Keep this in the cellar for 3 years as a starting point – beautifully made wine.

2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Champsgains
Only two producers make this in red – Caroline and her father. The parcel is now shared.
Colour similar to the Chassagne. This nose has extra depth and a good width too. Supple, nicely concentrated – a lovely extra depth of flavour in this wine. Complex – über delicious. Bravo!

2019 Beaune 1er Les Grèves
Older vines here, planted in the mid-60s, roughly. White planted in the middle, bookended by this red
Paler colour. More airy aroma – more open in the higher tones. More sinuous, more direct, silk that turns to velvet as the tannin starts to show. A little finishing reduction in what is a complex palate of flavours. This will be excellent.

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