Hi Mary,
You really aren’t going to easily find anything out there similar to Rene Collard’s wines - especially as they start to get a good amount of age on them. To me, they were never that interesting until they had 20+ years of age on them, but, then again, many were not released until they had significant age on them. At this point, they become pure animals and you either love 'em or hate 'em with no in between. Personally, I don’t think De Meric was all that similar to Rene Collard, but Ginsburg was inspired by and loved Rene Collard so I get the comparison. If you are looking for an equivalent to young Rene Collard wines which to me were always rustic, a bit heavy, and early maturing without a lot of interesting complexity then there are quite a few producers in the Marne Valley you could look at, but I am going to take a guess that you are more interested in something that tastes like Rene Collard as it ages. My thoughts below are based on this, but, please tell me if I am off-base on my assumption.
Collard-Picard run by Olivier Collard (Rene’s Grandson) makes great wines. Olivier is a huge fan of what his grandfather did and always happy to open one of the bottles he got after Rene Collard’s stock was divided up and sold off, but I don’t think his wines are all that similar either. They are much more smooth and fruity in most cases (at least to me).
The first two producers that pop to mind as kind of similar to me are Bollinger and Michel Loriot. Bollinger’s Grande Annee wines have been gaining more and more of an animalistic, meaty, oxidative edge to them with 5 years of aging after release. VVF has always had this character and it really comes out with age, but VVF is also very expensive - especially for older bottles. The biggest issue with Bollinger is that it is a classic Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend from top villages, where Rene Collard’s wines are completely different; still, I find some similarities. Michel Loriot does a great job with Pinot Meunier and I have seen a number of his pure Pinot Meunier wines (or his father’s wines) go quite a bit, musky, animalistic, or gamey. They are more smooth and creamy than Rene Collard, but they have some similar characteristics.
Older wines from Goutorbe-Bouillot in Damery also can show some similarities to Rene Collard, but they tend to be a bit sweeter. Additionally, newer releases are much more precise and structured which is not going to likely be what you are looking for. In general, this trend is going to make it difficult for you to find a Rene Collard ‘stand-in’. Most producers are now looking to go for structure, finesse, and precision regardless of grape type, soil, or what style best suits their vines. This has led to the style of Rene Collard to be on the outside for right now.
For classic Pinot Meunier producers, I really think you need to look for producers who are not right next to the Cote des Blancs. The soil needs to be heavier on clay. When you move east in the Marne Valley and get close to the Cote de Blancs (as in Pierry) you start to get a lot of chalk and many of the wines are brilliant Pinot Meuniers that I love, but they are also much more precise and have a mineral structure that is the opposite of Rene Collard’s wines. Jose Michel is an example of this. Also, a lot of the wines from Pinot Meunier territory that has chalky soil tend to be a mix of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier which makes a big difference.
For some of the other wines mentioned, I love Billiot’s Julie and it is a very wild and unique wine, but it is nothing like Rene Collard. Christophe Mignon’s wines are not a bad suggestion, but depending on the dosage level may be a bit too dry and acidic. They do have the early maturity characteristic going on, but they lack the animal edge of Rene Collard in my opinion. Benoit Dehu’s wines are more structured and dry to be a good Rene Collard comparison for me. Still, Mignon and Dehu are probably worth a try. I don’t think Tarlant, Henri Giraud, or Fleury are all that similar although Fleury makes a number of wild wines and many can go animal, but in a different way from Rene Collard.
As a final note, you may know that, after he passed, most of Rene Collard’s stock went to J de Telemont and Drappier. I have no clue what Drappier is doing with their stock, but J de Telemont has released theirs under their ‘Heritage’ label. Prices are higher than what Rene Collard went for, but some availability is there.
I guess, to sum it up, there is a reason Rene Collard was unique, loved, and will be greatly missed: no one else is, was, or likely will be quite like him as a person or a vinegrower/winemaker.
