Colas Robin 2018 – Brut Nature (Jeroboam 3 L)

The wine's story:

This is Piollot's Colas Robin 2018 in a 3-litre bottle – four standard bottles in one. Colas Robin is a Champagne from a grape rarely seen in Champagne: 100% Pinot Blanc. Robert Piollot planted the vines in 1955 on the Val Colas Robin parcel in Polisot, using massal selection. The vineyard sits on a south-facing slope on Kimmeridgian clay and limestone.

Piollot Père et Fils is a family estate in Polisot: 8.5 hectares, of which 12% is Pinot Blanc, certified organic since 2014 and biodynamic since 2020. Roland Piollot has run the estate since 1986.

Winemaking:

The grapes are hand-harvested and pressed directly, without skin contact. Fermentation starts with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and malolactic fermentation is completed. The base wine is raised for ten months, 80% in steel and 20% in used oak barrels; the wine is neither fined nor filtered. It then matures on the lees in bottle; no dosage is added after disgorgement.

Tasting notes:

A pale, fresh, delicate Champagne of moderate body and clear citrus character. Gault&Millau describes the 2018 (standard bottle) as luminous and precise: citrus from yellow lemon to clementine, and a light bitterness that recalls citrus zest; the finish is dry and long.

Food pairing:

For a festive table: scallops or prawns in butter, pan-fried whitefish or trout with lemon butter, chicken with tarragon; Comté or Tomme de Savoie.

Ratings & accolades:

Gault&Millau – 91/100 (2018, rated in the 0.75 l bottle)