I quite agree with your post, it’s just that for me Collin isn’t the one that I would sell my soul for. Though I do really enjoy the wines.
Greg and I share pretty similar tastes, and for me Agrapart is the producer I can’t do without. Lassaigne’s Clos St Sophie as well (and I dearly love the lean aspect of the Les Cotet). Doyard and Collin are similar for me, and Doyard’s Vendemiare at $50 is perhaps the best value(for me) in Champagne.
Ironically, I opened my first base 2019 Longitude last week, and on the first sip and sniff it bore a slight resemblance to Les Pierrieres. I thought it was a noticeable step up in quality from every other release I’ve had going back to 2012. Wouldn’t fool anyone blind but there’s a tiny bit of that savory, nutty, spicy character that puts me firmly in the camp of “yes I would gladly sell my soul for more bottles of 60mo Collin, particularly the 2014 Enfers”.
Robert, if you remember the Collin wines from about 10 years ago, I don’t think your impression is all that wrong. While I started drinking them a bit after that, I think Olivier’s winemaking has improved very significantly but also changed. His earlier wines are, to me, more oxidative (which is why he was at one point constantly billed as a “Selosse acolyte”), but they’ve moved on quite a bit from that. I think rather than a drastic change there was a progression, but his blanc de blancs in particular became really good from about the 12 vintage and then just absolutely spectacular from about 14 on (which are some of the current disgorgements you’re seeing). I think the Maillons (his Blanc de Noir) took maybe a touch longer to reach those levels, but as of 2016 it’s also a fantastic wine. I’ve called the Maillons Krug blind, it’s not dissimilar (and I like Krug!).
As far as the wines above, while you can’t go wrong with either, as William said, I think the Enfers would probably be the best showcase of what Collin’s wines are like now - I think you’ll find them quite different than what you remember 10 years ago. As with many producers coming into their own (I believe Olivier’s first vintage was 04/05, and his father didn’t really make wine for commercialization), he took some time to find his real groove.
If you don’t get the chance to try some, let me know - if you’d told me, I’d have brought some to dinner at Secchu last week! I’d bring some next week but can’t make Gem because I’ve got a birthday party. But again, as William says, you can’t go wrong.
Sarah and Jayson have also provided great advice. On the Pierrieres the non-sticker is 36 months, with the advanced aging being now 48, while the Roises and Enfers were 48 non-sticker with 60 with the sticker.
You are spot on with the positive changes that Olivier Collin has consistently made since he started in 2003 (first vintage being 2004). The vineyards have gotten better, but the winemaking has improved by leaps and bounds from when he started. Olivier has been very keen on being open-minded to feedback and it has led to better and better wines. The wines he was making in 2004-2010 are very different from the wines he is making today. Whereas the first few years of his wines had a tendency to sometimes/often be heavy handed with oak, prone to oxidation, and prone to volatility, things have improved by leaps and bounds. As you mentioned, the improvement in his wines didn’t happen overnight or all at once, but cleaner wine making during fermentation, aging, and disgorging have done wonders and led to steady improvement year-after-year. Bringing his vineyards back to life and using a well-reasoned approach to farming that has him out in the vines as much as possible has also contributed to the improvements too, but I really think the winemaking changes have had the biggest impact.
