NV Ulysse Collin Blanc de Blancs
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Actually Les Pierrières 2007 plus 30% reserve wine. Disgorged in 2011. Fantastic freshness due to the cool summer. ‘It’s a beautiful vintage.’ Not heavy with lots of nuances. (There was no Maillons in 2007 thanks to three hailstorms. Collin sold off the grapes.) Greenish gold. Fine and savoury. Rich and satisfying. Very fine mousse. This had some malo. Best for him is partial malo. ‘If there’s no malo, you have to increase SO2 and you have to age the wine for ages but we don’t have the money for that.’ Quite chewy apple-skin quality. You have to like that quality… (JR)
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Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The NV (2007) Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs rocks. It is a big, mouth-filling wine loaded with extravagant Chardonnay fruit. This is a decidedly extroverted, powerful vintage of the Blanc de Blancs, but I am quite confident the wine will settle down with further time in the bottle. Juicy peaches, mango, passion fruit and French oak wrap around the sensual, enticing finish. This is a dazzling showing from Collin. The 2007 includes 35% 2006 reserve wine. This bottle was disgorged March 1, 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. I visited Olivier Collin in early April, in the middle of what turned out be a very early bud break. The pristine, immaculately tended vineyards point to a grower absolutely obsessed with quality, which comes through in the wines as well. I tasted a number of Champagnes, including three stunning 2008s that have not yet been released. Collin is another of my very favorite growers. I never miss a chance to drink these wines. Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334-8191
100% Chardonnay, 90% of which comes from 2006, 10% from 2005. Aged in five-year-old barrels for 12 months. Disgorged in Jul 2010. Dosage 1.6 g/l. Verbena and lime leaf on the nose. Lemony with a tiny delicate bubbles and well-defined acidity. A very particular green note (fresh herbs?) and lemon peel. Quite fine and lithe. Absolutely delicious, and it kept pulling me back to the glass. Lip-smacking finish and length. (TC)
Heady liqueur sort of nose – very arresting! Some oak and lots of intense fruit – so different from the champagne norm. Another drink! Pretty good but for those of us who are used to downing champagne without much thought, this sort of wine is rather salutary. Very long. (JR)
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12.5%
Blanc de Blancs