Of the Côte de Nuits villages, Marsannay is the scrappiest. Many have argued that this most-northerly of the villages has had to work the hardest to keep its vineyards and reputation intact, in large part because Dijon’s sprawl has been nipping at its heels. This fact has also kept the village largely off the tourist map, and naturally, all of this has suppressed prices a bit. A quality bottle of Marsannay usually costs between $45-$50 — not cheap, but certainly not on a level with the villages further south, like Morey-Saint-Denis or Vosne-Romanée. Marsannay has some excellent producers who have worked hard to bolster its reputation for quality, and the village also has the claim to fame as being the only Burgundy village to produce red, white and rosé wines within its AOC appellation.
I was immediately taken with its aromas, which harmonized both summer and autumn fruit (raspberries and cranberries) with its recollections.
I will admit that I was looking for none of this when I bought a bottle of Domaine Collotte’s “Cuvée de Noble Souche” Bourgogne Rouge a few weeks back. I was just thirsty for a bottle of fairly priced yet delicious Pinot Noir from France. Knowing the shop I was in — Denver’s The Vineyard — I knew that this $35 bottle had been approved by sommelier Nathan Gordon’s palate. Sold. It was only after I uncorked it — and retroactively pieced together its story — that I realized how lucky I was to find it.
That’s because Domaine Collotte makes this wine from an old-vine Pinot Noir parcel planted in 1947. There is only 1.16 hectares of it, so quantities — for a Bourgogne AOC — are scant. The vines lie outside the Marsannay village boundary, where the winery is based, and that fact alone keeps this wine’s price fairly low. I was immediately taken with its aromas, which harmonized both summer and autumn fruit (raspberries and cranberries) with its recollections, as well as a distinct memory I had of irises blooming in my mom’s garden growing up.1 Whether you detect this same floral note or not is beside the point: this wine is juicy yet complex, and uniquely floral while maintaining its Pinot soul. The fleshy feel on the palate likely accounts for its flat-land soils, giving the wine a bit more body than I am accustomed to from the Côte de Nuits.
Whether from Burgundy or Oregon, Sonoma or New Zealand, it is pretty damn rare to find a Pinot Noir of this kind of quality and character at this price. It is a weird wrinkle in the economics of Burgundy that a small-plot wine of exceptional character can be had for cheaper than something comparable domestically. It is an example of the Bourgogne “pyramid” coming up short for its producers … but I won’t complain in this case.
2022 Domaine Collotte “Cuvée de Noble Souche” Bourgogne
Bourgogne AOC (Burgundy )
Grapes: Pinot Noir 100%
Alcohol: 13.5%
Opinion: ★★★★ 3/4
Food-friendliness: Versatile
Value: Very Good
A beginner might like … knowing that the Collotte family de-stems their fruit, lending a fruitier profile than the spicier notes of a whole-cluster fermentation. Seek this information out when wine shopping for Bourgogne: it makes a big difference.
A wine obsessive might like … how unusual it is to encounter the power and complexity of very old Pinot Noir vines in a regional-appellation Bourgogne. Collotte’s plot is true vieilles vignes territory having been planted in 1947.
Note: This wine was purchased with funds raised from subscriptions like yours.
1 You might think this aromatic note is “writerly BS,” but let me tell you, I actually associate the aroma of irises with anxiety, and wouldn’t actively seek it out. That’s because my mom’s flower garden was next to our driveway where we had a basketball hoop, and my missed shots would routinely carom over there and crush her poor flowers, releasing this aroma and bathing my senses in guilt.
So feel free to accuse me of poetic license; I can live with that. But I’m telling you, my brain went right to that memory with this wine.
