Philippe Colin Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Demoiselles, 2013, 750ML

Feature

Tasting Note

Burghound 93

Less than subtle wood treatment presently fights somewhat with the otherwise pretty and ultra-fresh aromas of citrus, acacia blossom, pear and green apple scents. There is equally good freshness and vibrancy to the delineated, intense and pure mineral-laden middle weight flavors that deliver excellent length on the citrus and agreeably dry finish. As the description suggests this will need a few years to better integrate the oak and to develop more depth but it should be very much worth the wait.

Producer note: Philippe Colin, who is the brother of Bruno (see above), was away attending to the harvest at his new domaine in South Africa. His assistant provided a few details that included a harvest date of the 28th of September with normal yields in white but a deficit of 20% in red. There wasn't much sorting required which she attributed to having done several passes in the vineyards to leaf thin so as to encourage better aeration of the fruit. She described the style of 2013 as "classic". The 2013 whites were bottled between September 2014 and January 2015.

Vinous 91, Stephen Tanzer

Bright, light yellow. White peach, mint and sexy nut oil on the nose, complicated by
ginger and musky lees. Fat, spicy and sweet, with a firm edge to the very ripe flavors of pineapple, yellow peach, charred oak and toasted bread. This very concentrated wine finishes dense and long, with lovely lift. Colin made just a barrel and a half of this wine from degenerating vines in 2013 (and only one in 2012), vs. a typical two and a half.

Wine Advocate 88-90, Neal Martin

The 2013 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru les Demoiselles, which is aged entirely in new oak, has a flattering, brioche-tinged bouquet that opens nicely in the glass, although I would like to see more mineralité come through given the vineyard. The palate is rounded and unashamedly modern in style. At the moment, as you would expect, there is plenty of new oak, but it is nicely in sync with the fruit. It needs 3-4 years to fully absorb the wood and then it will show its true colors. Drink Date: 2015 - 2024

Winemaking

Philippe Colin was there to greet me at their winery, housed in an "out-of-village" facility conveniently located next to the RN74 artery, home also to Michel Niellon and Jean-Marc Pillot. He's a man of relatively few words but that's fine when your wines have much to say, and to be honest this was one producer whose 2013s I may prefer to 2012. He started the harvest on September 28 and finished October 8. "The wines changed a lot after malolactic fermentation," he explained. "I find the 2013s full of tension, while the 2012s tend to have more richness." The 2013s were mostly taken from tank with just a few crus already bottled. Like his neighbor, Michel Niellon, there is a sense of energy here that was just missing in the 2012s. My only caveat is that I occasionally find that some of the crus are furnished with too much new oak that detracts from the terroir expression and in one or two cases, this needs to be just dialed down. (Written by Neal Martin)

Winery

Domaine Philippe COLIN was established back in 2004. Today, they either grow or farm 5 ha -12.5 acres- of vineyards around the village of Chassagne-Montrachet, in the southern part of Côte de Beaune.

The annual production is 35,000 bottles —22,000 in 2021 due to frost. Whites and reds break down into eleven appellations -ten in 2021 because Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru En Remilly was 100% frosted-, giving us the opportunity to sample an outstanding wealth of terroirs.

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