Overview of the Wine
“Young Philippe Collotte is one of the several new stars of Marsannay”
— Robert Parker Jr, The Wine Advocate.
"The wines have superb balance and finesse - I recommend everything from this special producer" - Ian Blackburn, Wine Cloud Inc
Philippe Collotte is a tall, quiet man, but with a lot of passion to make superb wines just waiting to be unleashed. Producing lower yields, more selection is done before and at harvest. Fruit is de-stemmed, and he bottles everything unfiltered. Tillage is all done by plowing, no chemical weed-killers ever used, and the philosophy is that a lot of work done in the vines promotes healthy grapes for excellent wine. Collotte’s yields are well below the appellation’s allowances. All fermentations are done with indigenous yeasts only. Sustainably Farmed.
Recently, Philippe's daughter, Isabelle has completed viticulture school and is joining her father in the domaine.
Made from vines planted in the early 1980’s this wine shows lovely aromatics and remarkable finesse for the appellation. Fixin is reknowned for producing sturdy, rich Pinots yet here we have a wine with much more finesse than one usually expects. A beautiful introduction to the wines of Fixin and great value too, for this appellation just to the north of Gevrey Chambertin.
All fruit is hand-picked and hand-sorted, then 100% de-stemmed followed by a one-week cold-soak at 10°C, gradually warming to a natural ferment over a couple of weeks. Extraction is via pigeage (plunging) to begin with then moves to lighter remontage (pump-overs) at about the half way stage. All the wines are matured in 25% new oak barriques for 12 months and bottled without filtration. Collotte uses a single cooperage and barrel specification, the aim being to allow the different terroirs to express themselves consistently. All the barrels are Tonnellerie Rousseau Allegro barriques.
Grape / Blend
Pinot Noir
Origin
Côte de Nuits, France
Tasting Notes
A lovely single-plot effort from a relatively new star in Burgundy, this Pinot Noir features brambly red fruit, spice, and a hint of steminess. Very approachable with great structure and balance.