NV - Ulysse Collin, Les Maillons Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut (2012)

Darker and more intensely flavored than its 2018-based counterpart yet simultaneously endowed with greater concentration, Collin’s NV Blanc de Noirs Les Maillons (2017 base) represents a great success in the vintage context. Harvested in mid-September—when in many areas heavy rainfall followed by immediate sunshine proved challenging for fruit quality—the Coteaux du Sézannais fared better, and the evidence is in the glass. Disgorged in March 2021 with a dosage of 2.4 grams per liter, the wine opens with aromas of mirabelle plum, freshly baked bread and orange peel, mingled with notes of dried apricot and toasted hazelnut. Full-bodied, vinous and enveloping, it reveals a layered core of fruit underpinned by vibrant acidity and animated by a fine, pinpoint mousse. It may appear slightly more immediate in style, but this impression may be deceptive, as it ages on its concentration.