Ulysse Collin dinner at Shaw's

The Krug and Dom Perignon were added as controls. At the end of the day, I can safely say that I still prefer the LVMH champagnes.

• 2020 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Côte de Val Vilaine 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  VV/R20; 2022 disgorgement. And yet another shitty label, though at least it's legible now. The wine is much better -- this feels relatively peachy and rounded, with a pleasant ripeness to bulk up the structure on this wine. That said, this doesn't seem quite as lean as other wines from Bouchard that I've had in the past.

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• 2017 Benoît Lahaye Champagne Grand Cru Brut Nature Le Jardin de la Grosse Pierre 88 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Disgorged November 2021; sans dosage. Taut and honestly a little green for my palate. This feels very light and while there is interesting complexity here (maybe it's all those other grapes!), it's also missing weight and presence on the palate for me. Definitely not my preferred style of champagne.

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• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Le Magnum Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs (2006) 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Bottle 478 of 503. Lot 2006 F SOL, disgorged 05/03/2012 (likely European-style date given that the back label is in French). From magnum, of course. This was a wine that got better with air, though I think most others at the table liked it much more than I did. Initially it shows some mint and pine terpines, and you get this sappy sweetness of the fruit as well. It integrates a lot more with air, and the high-toned aromatics are dialled back, revealing more white fruit. Full on the palate, and very nice for a 2006 blanc de blancs.

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• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (2016) Les Pierrières 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Base 2016 P 36 M No. 97. Disgorged March 2020 (remember that time?). Mostly orchard fruit here, with a high-toned light green fruit touch as well. This does need some time to flesh out, but no matter what, this is certainly one of the leaner wines of the lineup tonight; quite taut with high acid.

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• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut (2015) Les Maillons 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Lot No. 15/2, disgorged March 2019; 36 Months, No. 211. This was very much approachable and opulent out of the gate. It shows a slight bit of mushroom (which is likely the pinot talking), but does taper down in terms of concentration on the midpalate and finish. However, I did really like the weight and roundness of this.

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• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Extra Brut (2015) Le Jardin d'Ulysse 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Base 2015, disgorged March 2021, No. 146. An unexpectedly exotic nose with some green herbs and some fruit notes bordering on tropical. Very bright with modest (though sufficient) acidity, coupled with an almost juicy disposition. Quite pleasant but perhaps not at the same level as the other wines in the 2015 flight, at least for my taste.

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• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (2015) 60 mois Les Enfers 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Base 2015 E, disgorged March 2021, No. 32. Very impressive; this was probably my favourite bottle of Collin tonight. Initially this comes off slightly high-toned and aldehydic, but it really comes around quick and you get this chalky, intense mineral wine with plenty of tart apple notes. The acidity is high, but I think there's enough weight here to carry it. A very impressive bottle here, though admittedly for my palate it's still not really up my stylistic alley.

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• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (2015) 60 mois Les Roises 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Base 2015 R, disgorged March 2021, No. 109. Initially a bit of a tossup whether I preferred the this or the Enfers; with air, I actually ended up preferring the latter. This has some slight green herbaceousness on the nose, but much of the same, intense bright fruit. However, to me, this didn't pick up quite the same amount of weight as the Enfers, nor did it feel as intensely mineral, so in some sense this was a slightly diluted Enfers. Nonetheless, a very impressive wine and excellent bottle.

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• 2008 Dom Pérignon Champagne 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Initially, this bottle seemed to drink a little advanced (especially in comparison to the 2012 alongside), and the colour looked a little darker than I expected. The palate and nose bore that out -- underneath the typical Dom reduction there were a few browned fruit notes. Maybe this was because we were coming off a bunch of Collin. In any case, this was somewhat panned as a mediocre showing, but when I went back to this bottle a few hours later (somewhat disbelieving that a bottle of known and proper provenance would show this poorly), I was surprised how much this had tightened up, yielding more white fruit and that taut acidity that I remember so well from this wine. That all said and done, I wonder if this is starting to shut down some, especially since the 2012 alongside showed so much better.

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• 2012 Dom Pérignon Champagne 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Even more reductive than the 2008 alongside, though maybe that's a function of the relative youth. Tonight, I actually liked this bottle a little more, though the 2008 pulled up to this pretty closely at the end of the evening. This was fresher, brighter, more put-together and minerally. Surprisingly, there's a slight tinge of tropical fruit (pineapple) today, but I found it adding interest today. Really goes to show how much of an outperformer the 2012 is.

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• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (2012) Les Roises 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Lot No. SOL F12 si, disgorged February 16, 2016. Not much fruit here -- this was herbal (with some almost amaro-like notes) and showing plenty of high-toned aldehydic notes as well. Far more oxidative than the other Collins up until now, with a distinct, almost copper colour in the glass. Interestingly, this also had a strong iodine tint to it as well. More interesting than good, I'm glad to have gotten to try this, but drinking a bottle would've been a bit of a tall order.

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• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (2014) Les Enfers 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Lot 14/1, F 48 Months, No. 383, disgorged March 2019. Like the 2012 Roises next to it, this had a lot of high-toned aldehydic notes on the nose and palate that I didn't really like. On the palate though, this showed a distinct marzipan character with medium acidity. For my palate, lacking the freshness and lift that a wine like this ought to have (of course, this is but one year off of the 2015s, but felt far more aged).

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• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Rosé de Saignée Extra Brut (2017) Les Maillons 88 Points

  France, Champagne

  Base 2017 M, disgorged March 2021, No. 91. Doughy and weird on the nose, with this sugar-cookie dough aroma that's kind of off-putting. The palate is simple and slightly confectioned, then you get some red pinot flavours coming through, but it's really separated and disjoint from the rest of the wine. Simple, but I've never really found saignée champagnes to be particularly compelling.

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• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Rosé de Saignée Extra Brut (2013) Les Maillons 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Lot No. 13, disgorged February 2016. The nose has this spicy thing that kind of evokes whole cluster pinot. That's pretty interesting for sure, but I'm not as sure that I want to experience it in champagne. This doesn't have quite the confectionary elements as the 2017, but still feels disjoint (as with all saignée champagnes) on the palate. Pleasant enough, but again a wine that's probably more interesting than good.

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• NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 164eme 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  316031. I don't know if it was because of all the Collin wines or if this wine is actually coming around some, but this was probably the best showing of the 164eme that I think I've had. This has much of the same brightness and lift, and to be sure, the acidity on this is very high and intense, but I finally feel like I picked up some nascent hints of the expected Krug richness on this bottle. In any case, an excellent bottle of Krug, and probably one of my wines of the night (despite the theme of the dinner).

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• NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Édition 168ème 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  119004. Some at the table preferred this to the 164eme, but I found this to be a bit washed out in comparison. This just didn't have the potency that the older wine had. The fruit is sweeter and the wine is overall more subtle, with the Kruggy elements dialled down some. A nice bottle of wine, of course, but just not playing at the same level as the 164eme tonight. Perhaps in four more years?

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