René Lequin-Colin
Santenay, France
This 9 hectare family domaine, which dates back over 300 years, has a lovely range of vineyards, deriving from the marital conjoining of Lequins from Santenay and Colins from Chassagne-Montrachet.
We think he makes no less than seventeen wines, though some in very small quantities, for example just one specially made small barrel of Batard-Montrachet! Relaxed and charming, François Lequin makes a well presented range, all precise and expressive.
All François's wines are now organically certified, though he chooses not to state as such on the labels as he wants them to sell on their own merits, not just because of a green symbol! He believes organics helps the expression of terroir. This thoughtful respect for tradition allied to contemporary methods yields results which we really enjoy, and clearly so do you.
The stand-out wine in his range is the Bourgogne Chardonnay Back to the Roots. Though the fruit is only from his own vineyards around Santenay, he makes the wine as though it was much grander, with barrel fermentation and plenty of batonnage (lees-stirring). Decanted, one could mistake it for something much smarter and more expensive.