Category: Collet

Romain Collet is a rising star in Chablis. After taking over the domaine in 2009, Collet has introduced ambient yeasts, new fermentation vessels, and a move towards organic viticulture. The quality has jumped, and despite recent disastrous weather patterns, Romain has produced some remarkable vintages.

We’re always on the hunt for overperforming wines. We often find them just over the border of a famous vineyard or village. At their best, these wines provide exceptional value: near-perfect terroir, but without the famous name and ensuing cost.

White Burgundy makes an excellent “by the glass” wine for your house. It pairs with a wide range of foods, and with no food at all -- an essential component to a well-stocked cellar. Think of it as wine’s Swiss Army Knife, useful in far more situations than you can think of at one time.

Of the 12,000 acres of vineyards planted in Chablis, only seven vineyards covering 250 (2%) qualify as Grand Cru. And of these seven, most consider the “Les Clos” the finest. As Master of Wine Clive Coates puts it, Les Clos combines “depth, intensity, and great elegance” – or in other words, is “Chablis at its very, very finest.”

The Domaine Jean Collet in Chablis had a tough 2016. Mother Nature awoke on the wrong side of the bed that year, and the vintage had just about every malady you can think of -- hail, frost, mildew, grape maladies, sunburnt fruit, and more. The domaine lost about 60% of the crop, but the fruit that survived was superb.

The wines of Chablis are known for their limited oak, piercing minerality, and crystalline elegance. Our favorites are often mid-range bottles that combine everyday pricing and with great energy and beautiful precision.

Chablis is the quintessential food wine. With its refreshing mouthfeel and vibrant minerality, it matches beautifully with a wide range — a foil for rich, creamy dishes, or a match for crisp ones. And for nearly all Chablis, the price-to-quality ratio continues to impress.

Soil plays a crucial role in determining the character of wine. Clay-rich soils produce bold wines; flinty soils imbue their wines with notes of gunsmoke. And in Chablis, the particular blend of limestone, clay, chalk, and ancient oyster shells gives its wines an elegant, lace-like minerality.

Most consider white Burgundy the finest expression of Chardonnay. But even within Burgundy there’s a wide range of styles and flavors; precise, crisp Chablis on one side of the spectrum, and lush, mouthfilling Meursault on the other. Today’s wine is Chablis that wants to be Meursault. And while it’s typical of neither place, it’s also […]

Of the seven Chablis vineyards classified as Grand Cru, most consider Les Clos to be the finest. Taken as a share of the region’s production, Les Clos accounts for only 0.6%. But as Master of Wine and Burgundy expert Clive Coates says, it is “Chablis at its very, very finest.”

The Burgundies of the Côte d’Or may be Chardonnay’s most refined expression, but its purest expression comes from the hillsides of Chablis. With no oak to compete with the fruit, this is Chardonnay showing only its essential elements. It takes a talented winemaker to craft this unadorned version of the grape, and Romain Collet is […]

Of the 12,000 acres of vineyards planted in Chablis, only 250 (2%) qualify as Grand Cru. This highest tier includes seven distinct vineyards, each famous in its own right. But among the seven, the Grand Cru “Les Clos” is generally considered the finest. As Master of Wine Clive Coates puts it, Les Clos is “Chablis at its very, very finest……