Domaine Marc Colin et Fils 2021 Santenay Vieilles Vignes 750ml

Marc Colin founded his domaine in 1970 in Saint-Aubin with just six hectares inherited from the Colin and Ponavoy families — a modest beginning for what has since become one of the Côte de Beaune's most quietly celebrated addresses. Four children eventually took up the family trade: Pierre-Yves left in 2005 to found his own now-prestigious eponymous domaine, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey; Joseph departed in 2017 to establish his own label; and it is Damien and Caroline, the two remaining siblings, who run the estate today, tending 12 to 15 hectares spread across Saint-Aubin, Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet, and Santenay — 26 appellations in total, an unusually diverse portfolio for a family-run domaine of this size.

The Colins are best known internationally for their white wines — elegant, mineral Chardonnay that regularly draws scores in the low-to-mid 90s from William Kelley at The Wine Advocate and Neal Martin at Vinous, sourced from parcels reaching all the way up to Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. But tucked into that white-wine-dominated portfolio sits a small red exception worth genuine attention: the Santenay Vieilles Vignes, sourced from a parcel in Les Champs Claude planted in 1901 — vines now well over a century old, farmed sustainably alongside the rest of the estate's holdings.

The 2021 vintage carries the hallmarks that define the Colin house style even in a red wine: restraint, precision, and a genuine deference to terroir over overt oak or extraction. Falstaff, tasting a nearby vintage of this exact cuvée, found it "light in colour, yeast, red currant and mineral savoury notes, lightly concentrated palate, very fine tannins, juicy, elegant, mineral tinged — highly complex, regal, with a huge amount of appeal." This is not a red built to compete on raw power. It's built the way the Colins build everything: minimal new oak, wild yeast fermentation, and a hands-off philosophy that lets a century-old vineyard speak for itself.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Domaine Marc Colin et Fils was founded in 1970 by Marc Colin and his wife Michèle, beginning with six hectares inherited from the Colin and Ponavoy families in Saint-Aubin. Over the following decades the estate expanded across Saint-Aubin, Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet, and Santenay, eventually spanning 26 appellations and including parcels in the Grand Cru vineyards of Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet. Marc and Michèle's four children all worked at the domaine at various points: Pierre-Yves departed in 2005 to found the now-celebrated Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, and Joseph left in 2017 to establish his own label, leaving Damien and Caroline Colin to run the family estate today. The domaine is roughly 70% white wine production (predominantly Chardonnay) and 30% red (Pinot Noir and some Aligoté), with winemaking defined by wild yeast fermentation, minimal lees stirring, and limited new oak (10-30% depending on the cuvée) — a house style built around minerality, crispness, and finesse rather than weight or overt oak character.

The Santenay Vieilles Vignes is sourced from the Les Champs Claude parcel, planted in 1901 — among the oldest vines in the entire Colin portfolio, now well over a century old. Vines across the estate are farmed sustainably, with careful soil work and manual harvesting throughout. The 2021 vintage in Burgundy was a genuinely challenging one — marked by significant frost damage in April across much of the region, which reduced yields considerably at many domaines, followed by a cool, wet growing season overall. Vinification for this cuvée follows the Colin house method: careful, minimal-intervention handling in oak barrels, with restrained new oak use to preserve the wine's natural freshness and terroir transparency.

Critics Reviews

No numerical critic score is confirmed for the 2021 vintage at this time. For house-style and adjacent-vintage context:

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate — 89 Points (2022 vintage)

Neal Martin, Vinous — 88-90 Points (2022 vintage)

Falstaff (2016 vintage, house style context):
"Light in colour. Yeast, red currant and mineral savoury notes. Lightly concentrated palate, very fine tannins, juicy, elegant, mineral tinged. Highly complex, regal, with a huge amount of appeal. Not a paragon of concentration. Very satisfying indeed."

Vinopolis (2022 vintage, house tasting note):
"Floral and berry aromas. Delicate fruity notes, bright acidity and soft tannins. Goes great with poultry and oven roasted veggies."

Wine-Searcher aggregate (across vintages): All 89/100; 2024: 89 · 2022: 88 · 2020: 88 · 2019: 89 · 2018: 91 · 2017: 89

Tasting Profile

Nose
Light in color — a translucent, elegant ruby that immediately signals restraint rather than extraction. Yeast, red currant, and mineral savory notes lead, characteristic of the Colin house style even applied to red wine. Floral and berry aromas add delicate lift.

Palate
Lightly concentrated but genuinely complex — very fine tannins carry the wine with a juicy, elegant character rather than power. Bright acidity and soft tannins keep the palate lively, while delicate fruity notes and a mineral-tinged undercurrent reflect the century-old Les Champs Claude vines.

Finish
Highly complex and regal for a wine of such restraint, with a huge amount of appeal despite not being, in Falstaff's own words, "a paragon of concentration." Very satisfying and genuinely food-friendly.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Roast poultry and oven-roasted vegetables
• Duck breast
• Mushroom dishes
• Soft and semi-soft cheeses
• Charcuterie