Domaine Collotte – A new producer who stepped up in 2005.

2/2/2008 -

Domaine Colotte is one of a handful of new estates that has stormed on the scene in recent days; the 2005s confirm the quality of the wines. Phillipe Colotte is a tall quiet man with the same vibe as Gary Copper, except without the movie star credentials. He made very good 2004's but the 2005's are where he really shined. He has very nice holdings in Chambolle and Marsannay, plus he makes a very special Bourgogne Rouge. The regimen here is low yields, strict selection and no filtering.

The 2005 Marsannay Clos de Jeu is perhaps the top Marsannay made in the appellation in 2005. A wine of amazing density and ripeness with all the stuffing that a 2005 from a higher appellation would show. Sappy with great cut and fruits tending to go to the darker/compote side of things. I personally will be putting at least three-six bottles in the cellar. It has great delineation and power with tremendous ripeness. There is a wonderful backbone for cellaring potential. What a wine and a tremendous value in the scheme of the 2005 Burgundy price escalation. You will not believe the quality and you owe it to yourself to sock some of this away. You will regret in twenty years if you don't own some of this.

Some of Domaine Collotte's other holdings, most notably in Chambolle, can provide thrilling drinking. Their 2005 Chambolle is full of finesse, sappy red fruits and tons of earthy/minerally Chambolle goodness. In the crazy world of village Chambolle's reaching $100 a pop this is a welcome value. Who knows if this could be commanding a hundred dollars a pop in the near future the way things are going?

These are great wines and would make a worthy addition to any Burg aficionado's cellar. They will arrive later in the week; as usual, first-come, first-serve. Not many more 2005 Burgs to offer, so I would jump on these.