NV Ulysse Collin Les Pierrieres Blanc de Blancs (Disgorged 2015)
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From the 2020 base and aged 48 months on the lees, the NV Champagne Blanc de Blancs Les Pierrières Extra Brut is expressive and layered. A fabulous wine even without bubbles, the elegance of the mousse takes it to the next level. The nose offers toasty notes of lemon confit, toast, fresh pineapple, and pure, long fruit. This is a stunning vintage from the Grand Cru of Congy. Full-bodied, it has remarkable richness, density, and fruitiness, yet it stays silky and light on its feet, and it lasts for ages on the palate. I love the profound depth of this wine. As it opens, it continues to unfold beautifully, showing smoky, wet stone notes. I love this served not too cold, as with all wines. Drink it over the coming three decades. Olivier Collin is based in the Coteaux du Petit Morin, in the village of Congy. In the 1930s, his grandfather became the first récoltant-manipulant in the region, bottling only from his own vineyards and refusing to sell fruit to négociants. Olivier’s father sold the company in 1987, but in March 2003, Olivier and his family decided to reclaim a portion of the vineyards and begin making wine again. By that time, the health of the soils had deteriorated, so his first priority was to buy a tractor and start rebuilding them, and he was able to produce his first vintage in 2004. He prefers to work as naturally as possible, although he does not tie himself to the constraints of any organic or biodynamic certification. In the vineyard, he seeks high maturity in the fruit without allowing it to tip into over-ripeness. His approach emphasizes balance, natural yeasts, natural malolactic fermentations, low intervention, and the addition of sulfur only at the time of pressing before fermentation. The goal is always the same: to produce the best possible base wine with real gastronomic importance. In the cellar, everything is fermented in barrels, mostly used, and the dosage is kept very low, varying from 0.85 grams to 4 grams per liter, depending on what the wine needs. Recently, he has been extending aging on the lees and continues to push the boundaries of what he can achieve in the Coteaux du Petit Morin. In 2024, they lost 50% of Maillon to mildew, but they’re very happy with the resulting quality and density in the wines.
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Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Like the 2008, the NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Pierrières (2009) didn't include any reserve wines. Offering up aromas of citrus oil, pear, mango, white flowers and pastry cream, it's medium to full-bodied, vinous and pillowy, with tangy acids and a long, tensile finish. Both the 2007 base and 2008 are more complete today, but the 2009 offers very charming drinking and all this site's signature energy despite the warmer vintage.
Disgorged in February 2023 after 48 months on the lees, Collin's NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Pierrières is based on the 2018 vintage, complemented by some 40% reserve wines. Unwinding in the glass with notes of sweet citrus fruits and pear mingled with notions of quince, hazelnuts and almonds, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and racy, with a broad attack that segues into a vinous, muscular mid-palate, concluding with a chalky finish. Readers will note that with this release, there are no longer two different disgorgements of Les Pierrières; instead, Collin has opted to age the entire tirage for the full 48 months before disgorgement.
There are 5,400 bottles of the NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Pierrières (2017), disgorged in February 2022 after 48 months on the lees—and this is the last time there will be two disgorgements, as from next year onward, Les Pierrières will systematically see 48 months' tirage before disgorgement. Wafting from the glass with scents of confit citrus fruit, lemon zest, spring flowers, almond paste, pastry cream and wet stones, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and precise, with terrific cut and tension, concluding with a long, saline finish. An additional year before disgorgement delivers a less primary, more integrated, seamless Champagne.