2019 Chassagne-Montrachet Village

It was raining cats and dogs when I pulled up at Philippe Colin’s winery. I was drenched walking the few metres between car door and his reception. Still, given the lack of rainfall in recent years, one cannot complain. Colin was there to greet me as usual, a relatively laconic winemaker but always interesting to converse with. “The challenge was to keep the freshness and acidity in this rich vintage,” he told me. “The growing season was not too hard as there was no sanitary disease, and we were only slightly touched by the frost in the Bourgogne Blanc. The harvest commenced on 11 September and it was very short, everything picked within two weeks, the yields between 45hl/ha and 50hl/ha. As it is a relatively rich vintage, I have not done any lees stirring. The Premier Crus are aged in around 30% new oak with three-quarters using 500-litre barrels.” This was a solid set of 2019s, particularly his Saint-Aubin Les Charmois, a Premier Cru that appeared to perform strongly in this vintage. Among his cluster of Chassagne Premier Crus, his Les Vergers stood out thanks to its exotic touch that did not occlude terroir expression. Others were clearly well crafted even if the warmth of the growing season erased a little of their nervosité. It will be interesting to return next year since his son, Simon, will take charge of some of the parcels, except for the Chevalier-Montrachet. I am sure Philippe Colin loves his son. But you never hand over your only Grand Cru.