Ulysse Collin Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs Les Maillons (2017) NV (750ML)

97 WA

Disgorged in March 2021, the NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Noirs Les Maillons (2017) is based on the 2017 vintage and complemented by fully 70% reserve wines from the 2016 vintage. Bursting with aromas of mirabelle plum, crisp orchard fruit, fresh bread, vanilla pod and clear honey, it's full-bodied, vinous and enveloping, with a lavish core of fruit, bright acids and an enlivening pinpoint mousse. Concentrated and precise, Collin notes that he disgorges this cuvée with slightly higher levels of sulfites than its blanc de blancs counterparts to compensate for the inherent fragility of Pinot Noir.--William Kelley, The Wine Advpcate

Les Maillons is a six hectare lieu-dit of which Collin owns 2.5 hectares in the village of Barbonne-Fayel in the Côte de Sézanne, just south of the Coteaux du Petit Morin. The soils here distinguish themselves with heavy clay rich in iron.