Romain Collet is one of the most exciting talents in our portfolio. He’s the energetic and innovative grandson of Jean Collet, the domaine’s founder. He experiments with all of today’s means of elevage, so a visitor to the cellars now walks past not only stainless steel tanks and large oak foudres, but also cement eggs, clay amphoras, and barrels of all sizes, from traditional Burgundian to demi-muids holding 400 or 500 liters.
Today we’re focused on his Chablis 1er cru cuvée from “Forêts,” a terroir made famous by Dauvissat’s iconic cuvée. Romain uses large concrete eggs for his Forêts cuvée, and the wine has a smoothed layer of fruit over the piercing Chablis acidity. The resulting wine is dry, dynamic and delicious, at once mouthfilling and bursting with saline and zip.
The just-arrived 2023 is terrific. It’s packed with yellow fruit and oyster shells – for the next few months we expect a dose of lemon cream atop the concentrated flavors. Down the road it should dry out and focus; the eggs mean there’s a subtle gras amid the dry extract, and the combination is delicious and mouthwatering. Jasper Morris found it “promising” with a note of “fresh licorice,” and writes “I expect it to develop well from here.”
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Collet Chablis 1er cru “Forêts” 2023
bottle price: $45
