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Ulysse Collin Les Maillons (L16) Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut Champagne

Champagne, FRANCE
$220. 00
Bottle
$2640.00 Dozen
ABV: 12.5%
Closure: Cork

Olivier Collin is based in the village of Congy, and while he comes from a family of vine growers, this was not his path early on. Olivier studied law, and it was not until a visit to Burgundy during his early days of university that he caught the bug, and he began to wonder if the idea of terroir so heavily relied on in Burgundy could be exploited further in Champagne. Using his legal nouse, Olivier began the process of reclaiming the family vineyards from long held contracts with a large Champagne house, and started his journey with 4.5 hectares of Chardonnay vines in his home town of Congy. A further parcel of Pinot Noir from the Les Maillons vineyard near the town of Sezanne in the Coteaux du Sezannais followed, and has been added to with the vineyards of Les Roises and Les Enfers, two neighboring parcels of Chardonnay with different expositions in his village of Congy.

Collin’s vineyards are ploughed, and yields are controlled when required. Grass is allowed to grow naturally during the winter, no herbicides or pesticides are used and strict sorting occurs at harvest. In the Congy cellar, the grapes are pressed in a traditional 1950s Coquard press, and the juice is vinified in a growing collection of large-format casks with no added yeasts. Collin neither fines nor filters, and he ages each pressing in old barrels of varying sizes after which they are blended and bottled in July. The wines are disgorged with a tiny dosage between one and three grams per litre.

The current release is based on 2016 with 60% reserve wine from 2015, disgorged in March 2020. This beautifully textured and perfumed Blanc de Noirs comes from a site in Barbonne-Fayel in the Côte de Sézanne. Les Maillons is six hectares of iron-rich clay, of which Collin farms almost half (he is the only grower to work the soil here). The Ulysse-Collin parcel was originally planted with massale vines in 1971. The commute by tractor takes a good two hours to the cellar in Congy, but the wine is worth it! As mentioned above, it’s superb Pinot terroir and can ripen the grapes north of 12% potential alcohol easily—something very rare in Champagne. Despite the power, the location of the site also helps to conserve acidity and freshness thanks to its ventilated, east-facing exposure.

Other Reviews....
The NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Noirs Les Maillons (2016 base) is effusive in its aromatics and also wonderfully deep, while also remaining light on its feet. This is an eccentric, heady style that really emphasizes the breadth of Pinot in its perfumed, fruit and structural feel. I would give the Maillons a bit more time in bottle to fully come together. Bright saline notes cut through a core of sweet red cherry, kirsch, dried flowers and spice. I loved it.
94 points
Antonio Galloni - Vinous