Colin is a well-known name among vignerons in Champagne, Burgundy, and throughout France. But if you haven’t yet heard of Romain and Richard Colin, then consider this a very large, neon-covered billboard: With seven generations of experience behind them, these brothers are crafting exceptionally exquisite bubbles in the Côte de Blancs! And to prove our point, and earn that exclamation point, we have their sublimely elegant, vintage-dated, Grand Cru “Les Grandes Terres” for your consideration today. Old vines on top terroir is elevated further by very long lees aging in the bottle, and after a decade of rest this tiny production, luxuriously textured beauty is ready to reveal all its goods. The delicate yet persistent perlage is guaranteed to bring smiles of pure delight, even in the dead of winter, and the extremely reasonable price will keep those smiles going strong. Of course, we don’t have much, so don’t wait to pounce.

The Champagne Colin genealogy line dates back to 1829 when Constant Piéton first planted vines in the Côte de Blancs. Fast forward a little over a century and you come to Richard and Romain’s grandmother, Geneviève Prieur, Constant Piéton’s great-granddaughter. She ran her small estate, selling fruit and producing small amounts of Champagne at the same time as her pee