yecch. Who likes this fruitless stuff when there is such delicious gorgeous Champagne out there?
alan
A couple of guys at a wine shop I frequent. I bought two based on their recommendations. Haven’t opened one yet.
Sounds like I should probably wait until we’re dining with people I don’t like.
I’ve had several bottles and love it. Sure, it’s lean and austere, but I like its tension. Think there’s a lot of potential for development, too.
All of my bottles have been 08 fruit. Do you know what this bottle was, Alan?
have had the b in the cellar a couple years but could not find any info on front or back re disgorgement or fruit sourcing. Bottle was correct–no heat damage, TCA, etc., just a fruitless stern unpromising Champagne with no pleasure provided. Glad I only had one bottle.
alan
This is always from a single vintage, right? I’m sure there is tremendous variation between different bottlings. I’ve had two bottles, and found one overly austere, while the other seemed very nice. The funny thing is, I’m pretty sure they were both from the same vintage, but consumed a year or two apart.
I’ve liked the ones I had very much though some more than others
Alan - I think this is non-dosage. I could be wrong though.
Tried his ‘Les Pierrières’ this summer in Épernay, quite certain it was '08 fruit and quite liked it for its purity, tension and minerality. Found it on the elegant side but attributed it to the less than optimal glasses so want to try more! To each his own though, lovely region in terms of variety, Bérèche otherwise makes a nice more full-bodied BdB, or two wines I really like actually, his Extra Brut Réserve and Les Beaux Regards.
Isn’t it some dosage, i.e. an Extra Brut like his others?
I had a 6-pack of the 2005 (though, technically, NV). I served one at my last hosting of “Leo’s blind” and it was well received. I enjoyed the others. Have one left.
I really like this wine.
To each his own.
I tried that Fiacre thing that some people raved about and thought it was not good.
I liked my two '05’s as well. Crisp and mineral laden, not fat and yeasty.
Same here.
It resembled White Burgs to me Alan,so I’m surprised you didn’t like it. Only tried once:
Tasting Note: Ulysse Collin Blanc de Blanc Extra Brut
A light straw color with a continuous stream of very small and fine bubbles
Nose: fresh bread, orange citrus, perhaps flan or custard, and chalk and other minerals, especially with air.
Quite full flavored for a Blanc de blancs and it immediately gives the impression of a Grand or better Premier Cru White Burgundy. Lots of spicy orange citrus tones. Definite tangerines. A bit of apple cider. A complexity and fullness more like a Dom Perignon Rose or La Grand Dame Rose than a typical BdB, perhaps due to the aging in oak cask.
This will improve with a couple years in the cellar no doubt, and is a candidate for decanting before serving.
Full Ramblings: Ulysse Collin
Drank about a year ago
Never had the BdB but his BdN was fabulous and really want to try this
Opened a 2008 BdB Les Roises to celebrate the new year and I can see people not liking it but I thought it was great. Such pure fruit and minerality.
I had a several bottles of the 06 and it was the yeastiest nose I have experienced on a bottle of champagne. It literally smelled like a bakery baking rye bread. That said, another bottle a year later had almost none of that, so ymmv. In any event, I think its a fantastic champagne, and while I agree it leans to the mineral side, I certainly wouldn’t call it fruitless.
and how!
Can’t talk about your bottle specifically, Alan, but every wine I’ve tried from this producer was great… and the visit there was vastly improved my knowledge of Champagne. One of the few growers my friends and I wish we could buy more of.
I am with you Alan. one encounter only with with producer and was with the les perrierres bottling. purchased last year. this was just raw acid. some like to call it tension but i am sorry, lets call a spade a spade when we see one. There has to be weight, fruit and other components for tension to be sensed.
with ok to good pricing, good reviews, the guy’s resume and extensive knowledge of champagne i think i am not going to write them off until i try couple more different bottling and even then wait and age them a bit.
for now based on the one example, it was for sure one the poorest showings of a BDB i have had in a loooong time.
FYI 8 out of 10 bottles of champagnei drink are grower and are BDB. Pierre peters, gimmonet, diebolt, salon are my to go BDB producers.
I’ve been buying and drinking Ulysse Colin for quite a while now and have come to the conclusion that there is a huge amount of bottle variation. Which is, of course, understandable if you buy/drink them from/in different places over the years (which I also have), but a bit more surprising if, like me, you buy a fair bit directly from Olivier (a great guy to visit, BTW!) and then find bottles of the same bottling, same disgorgement, from the same case to be all over the place: some just plain brilliant and some… well, entirely disappointing. I’m beginning to wonder whether it’s worth the bother, especially given the embarrassment of riches elsewhere in Champagne these days.