2004 Bruno Colin Chassagne Montrachet En Journoblot

Domaine Bruno Colin is owned and operated by Bruno Colin, one of two sons of the legendary Burgundy winemaker Michel Colin-Deleger. Michel split his Cote de Beaune domaine in 2003, giving a third of it to each of his sons, while retaining one-third for himself. Bruno has 20 acres including a number of Premier Cru parcels in Puligny-Montrachet, Saint-Aubin, Chassagne-Montrachet, Santenay and Maranges. Bruno shares the family cellar in the heart of Montrachet with his father. Bruno’s first vintages have earned compliments from reviewers, including the Wine Advocate, which has rated many of Bruno’s wines with 90 or more points.

Chassagne-Montrachet is the appellation that covers the communes of Chassagne-Montrachet and Remigny, and it is the southern-most of the Côte d’Or’s three great white wine appellations of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. With 1,200 acres of vineyards, it is one of the largest appellations in the region, and more than half the vineyard acreage is Grand Cru or Premier Cru. The three famous Grand Crus are Le Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. There are also 16 main Premiers Crus, most of them considered very high quality, and village wines. One fact rarely noted is that historically the appellation produced more red than white wine. In the late 1990s the ratio of white to red wines changed, however, as more vineyards were converted from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay, a logical decision given the acclaim of the appellation’s whites. There are still intriguing red wines produced. Clive Coates wrote that the appellation’s white wines generally are “full and firm, more akin to Puligny than to the softer, rounder wines of Meursault.”

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.