Philippe COLIN’s story is deeply rooted in Chassagne-Montrachet, a small village of 300 inhabitants, located in the heart of the Côte d’Or. The lineage of Michel COLIN-DELEGER, his father, dates back to both sides of the family in the 1850s, when his ancestors settled in the region. Michel inherits vines from both COLIN and his father-in-law. He created his winery, Domaine Michel COLIN-DELEGER, in 1987, with a reputation for being one of the best estates in the region, producing top quality Premiers and Grands Crus. In 1988, after studying viticulture in Beaune, Philippe joined his parents in the family business. During this period, he acquired a wealth of knowledge because of his close collaboration with his father, which awakened in him the passion for winemaking.
In 2004, at the time of his retirement, Michel COLIN-DELEGER shared his vineyard of 18 hectares between his two sons - and only keeps three parcels for him -: Philippe the eldest and Bruno the younger, who have two different approaches. The Domaine Philippe COLIN thus takes birth the same year, after 16 years of collaboration. Philippe is then building a state-of-the-art vat room with thermoregulated vats, on the outskirts of the village, and goes ahead. It has at its disposal fabulous vines, including Chevalier-Montrachet. Philippe currently operates around 12 hectares of vines - of which a little over 8 are owned, the rest belonging to other members of the family - mainly around the village of Chassagne-Montrachet but also in Santenay, Puligny-Montrachet and Saint -Aubin. The annual production reaches 90,000 bottles. Whites (60% of the production) and reds are available in 25 different appellations, some of which represent very small cuvées, thus allowing to discover all the diversity and the richnessof the grounds. Philippe’s range of wines is thus wide enough to satisfy the greatest number.
Philippe’s efforts are not long in being recognized, the Domaine having since been rewarded many times internationally. The work of Philippe COLIN is based on the absolute respect of the vine (soil cultivation, reasoned cultivation), and the grapes are harvested at high maturity, with a focus on the fruit. The vinification is at the service of the expression of the terroirs. The specificity of Philippe COLIN’s white wines may be due to the fact that the fermentation starts in stainless steel tanks at low temperature, in order to have a better expression of Chardonnay, especially the floral side. Then, it ends in casks. Philippe uses a combination of 228, 450 and 500 liter barrels from 5 different cooperages to better control the supply of wood and oxygen. The aging lasts between 12 and 18 months, depending on the rhythm of the wines. The latter then gain in intensity and aromatic precision, and are then bottled after light filtration. His village appellations see about 20 to 25% of new barrel and are particularly appreciated in their youth. Premiers Crus are bred with about 35% new casks, for an apogee at 6-8 years old. The Chenevottes is the oldest parcel, with some vines aged eighty.