Wine Advisor
Marc Colin, Batard Montrachet Grand Cru 2020
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is the first vintage where neither of the two barrels are new (both are a year old), as Damien Colin felt the 50% new oak was excessive. This results in a more austere nose, quite reserved, with enticing scents of greengage, wet pavement and freshly sliced grapefruit emerging. The palate is very well balanced with fine intensity on the entry, a very slight touch of white chocolate infusing the citrus fruit, and a harmonious and persistent finish. Excellent.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Aromas of orange oil, crisp stone fruit, pear and praline preface the 2020 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, a full-bodied, satiny and layered wine that's rich, concentrated and elegantly muscular, its broad attack segueing into a deep mid-palate girdled by lively acids, before concluding with a long, resonant finish. Vinified and matured in two once-used barrels, it's very promising indeed.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is the first vintage where neither of the two barrels are new (both are a year old), as Damien Colin felt the 50% new oak was excessive. This results in a more austere nose, quite reserved, with enticing scents of greengage, wet pavement and freshly sliced grapefruit emerging. The palate is very well balanced with fine intensity on the entry, a very slight touch of white chocolate infusing the citrus fruit, and a harmonious and persistent finish. Excellent.
About the Producer
Marc Colin was born in 1944 and created his estate in the late 1970s. Together with his wife Michèle, they took over vines from several generations of the Colin and Ponavoy families, some of which have been owned by the family for over a century. At that time, they cultivated about 6 hectares of vineyards in the municipalities of CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET and SAINT-AUBIN, and continued to develop the estate throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Today, Caroline and Damien, two of their children, manage this estate, which covers 12 hectares and includes 26 appellations in the villages of SAINT-AUBIN, CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET, PULIGNY-MONTRACHET, and SANTENAY. The estate is partly managed using sustainable farming methods, while the other part is being experimented with for organic farming. Regular soil work allows us to avoid chemical weeding and obtain impeccable grape quality. Our production includes regional, communal, premier cru, and grand cru appellations, with an annual total of about 80,000 bottles, 90% of which are white wine and 10% red wine. Our white wines are matured with a focus on purity, elegance, and length, while our red wines are vinified with the goal of freshness, crunchy fruit, and silky tannins. 50% of our production is sold for export to around twenty countries. In the French market, we distribute to individuals, wine merchants, and restaurateurs.