Tasted in Chassagne-Montrachet with Caroline Colin-Morey, 25 November 2021.
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 2021 vintage:
“From the 4th April to finishing our harvest – we had 6 months of torture in 2021. But we have about half the volume. Frost, mildew, oidium, porriture – we had everything…”
The 2020 vintage:
“We had the first leaves in confinement – the 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. 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. In terms of volumes it depends on which vintages we want to compare, but the volume of whites was correct and the reds just a bit below the average. I used between 20-45% whole clusters for the reds depending on the appellation, harvesting mainly in the mornings and cooling the grapes in a cool-room before working on them. No problems with the fermentations in 2020 compared to 2017 when the malos were often underway during the alcoholic fermentation”
The wines…
The reds have an open and airy style – lots of elegance in this vintage but not lacking an ounce of material. The whites, at this stage, show a similar elegance but the shapes and often the clarity too are really on a high level. Some covetable wines here.
2020 Santenay Les Cornières
Near the Château de la Crée.
Fresh, airy, almost a little strawberry complexity. Round and nicely structured, warm red fruit, a wide and mouth-watering, very tasty finishing complexity…
2020 Santenay 1er Comme
Next to Chassagne-Embazées – young, 22-year-old vines. 35% whole-clusters
Less fruity but a width of more mineral aroma, some red flashes of fruit. Hmm, here with more vibrant energy, some impression of stems and a really fine middle flavour.
2020 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.
The deeper fruit here is narrow but inviting. Fuller, layered flavour, attractively deep flavour too with lots of finishing dimensions – this is really excellent wine – super.
2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Champsgains
Only two producers make this in red – Caroline and her father. The parcel is now shared.
A finer red nose, a certain elegance to this. Fuller, richer but not fat, super depth of texture and with a fine and vibrant finishing flavour. That’s a beauty!
2020 Beaune 1er Les Grèves
Older vines here, planted in the mid-60s, roughly. White planted in the middle, bookended by this red
A nose that has a few higher tones, attractively airy. In the mouth a more architectural structure very open and impressive – an intensity to this finishing flavour – that’s another simply excellent wine.
Les Whites:
2020 Santenay Cornières Blanc
A very bright and forward nose of sweet yellow citrus. Less sweet than the nose suggested but round and deliciously layered mouth-watering citrus style to this wine. Holding lots of delicious concentration in the finish. Excellent villages – yum!
Long rows of 4-500m shared with cousin, Thomas Morey, a mix of red and white, vines planted in 2001
A deeper, more mineral, faintly reductive nose – inviting. More direct and like the red, more structural. There’s an ease to these flavours as they roll around the mouth. Fine finishing energy too – that’s a great Beaune – have a little patience – 1-2 years would be enough for me though!
2020 Chassagne-Montrachet Chambrées
The brand name of Caroline’s villages blend. 50-65-year-old vines.
A faintly toasty top note to this more compact but wide aromatic. A little softness to the entry of this wine, but beautifully layered with tasty flavour. Very attractive and very approachable – just a little creamy oak in the mix of flavours here. Lovely finishing too.
2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Champs Gain
Planted in 2009, lost 80% to the frost in 2016. This the 5th year with a longer (vs the villages) elevage like the other 1ers
A little more weight to the width of aroma here – a little hint of reduction to the depth too. More open, mouth-filling, slowly almost juicily mouth-watering. That’s a really top finish of pure and intense citrus complexity – really something. An excellent premier cru, elegant in style and with a great finish.
2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Vergers
Another new parcel in 2016, actually two parcels. Vines predominantly 50-60-years-old with a small younger plantation
A little more colour. Fuller again in the width – a little more cushioning to this nose. Less plump, cool fruited, faintly tannic – lots of complexity here. I’d like to see a bit more focus but that will likely come with the extra elevage. Nice finishing bitters and citrus skin flavour – another really super finish – these are fine indicators of the quality of the wine when bottled.
Near Philippe Colin’s vines, near the quarry. Older vines with millerandes.
More open, certainly more clarity of minerality in this aromatic. Open, cool fruit again, mouth-wateringly attractive – all the focus and fluidity that you could wish for – this is a very elegant and great wine I think. Bravo.
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.’
Not the widest but a nose of impressive purity and also highly attractive. Extra mineral – filling the mouth – a wine of impressive clarity, still a hint soft today but there’s much more elevage to finish here. The finish is next level with intensity and almost a burst of fireworks – bravo again!
2020 Criots Bâtard-Montrachet
Vines not far from those of Leroy, the vines were only theirs since November 2016 and they bought the harvest in that vintage.
Wide with a little more depth to the aroma – almost a little muscaté impression but there are higher florals too. More structural, depth to this structure – and of course, the flavours too. A richness of flavour but never fat or heavy. Big finishing – though without the explosion of the Caillerets. Simply excellent wine but I’d still take the Caillerets – or the Chaumées today.