Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey: Burgundy (Chassagne-Montrachet)

Established as one of the young rising stars of Burgundy, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey in 2005 left his family Domaine, Marc Colin, where he gained a solid reputation for his outstanding white wines. Pierre-Yves took control of a share of the family vineyards (Domaine Marc Colin) from 2006 vintage. His first vintages have been made from vineyards and growers that he works closely with buying the wine as must and aging the wines in barrels which he has supplied. If the resulting wines meet his standards the barrels of wine purchased are then matured in his own cold cellar below his house in Chassagne Montrachet. These wines are produced with natural yeasts, no lees stirring and no filtration that are built to age classically up to 10 years or more.

“Colin’s deep cold cave enables him to bottle late without filtration. Colin does no battonage and makes it clear that he doesn’t mind releasing wines that are “strict at the beginning”. The temperature of the cellar descends to about 7 Celsius in winter, and that has almost the same effect on the wines as an acidification.”  Steve Tanzer

“The quality Colin is achieving is starting to put him in an elite group and I suspect he will continue to improve. If so, Colin may soon rival for the best micro negociant in Burgundy specializing in whites.” Burghound.com July 2009

2008 Saint Aubin ‘Le Banc’          
Villages wines from an east facing vineyard located at the end of the valley above the village of St Aubin

2008 Saint Aubin 1er cru ‘Les Combes’      
From a north facing vineyard very close to Chassagne Montrachet. “An expressive, cool and airy nose features mild SO2, lemon and stone hints that complement the racy, intense and delineated middle weight flavors that possess good cut and punch on the delicious and notably dry finish. Good quality here. 88/2012+” 

2008 Saint Aubin 1er cru ‘La Chateniere’   
From a south facing vineyard located not far from the Grand cru Le Montrachet. “A more intensely floral nose also reveals hints of white peach and pear with a background touch of sulfur. The seductive, pure and mouth coating flavors possess ample amounts of dry extract that buffers the firm acid spine on the punchy but balanced and notably dry finish. 89/2013+” 

2008 Puligny Montrachet ‘Le Trezin’
“The altitude of this vineyard definitely is in evidence as the very cool green fruit and lemon zest nose is very much in keeping with the restrained character of the beautifully defined yet round and generous middle weight flavors that possess good drive and verve on the lingering finish. A very solid villages. (88-91)/2013+”

2008 Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru ‘La Maltroie’
“A similar but slightly riper nose slides gracefully into the somewhat finer and even more detailed flavors that possess plenty of dry extract that bestows a seductive character to the mid-palate, all wrapped in a lemony, linear and energetic finish. This is balanced and harmonious and worth a look. (90-92)/2014+”

2008 Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru ‘Morgeot’

2008 Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru ‘Les Baudines’ (from 45 year old vines).
“An airy, cool and distinctly lemon-lime suffused nose also offers up notes of stone and saline that complements to perfection the intensely mineral-driven middle weight flavors that possess excellent precision on the explosive and palate staining finish. Baudines is, in my view, one of the under rated terroirs of Chassagne and this example only adds to that impression. (90-93)/2014+”

 2008 Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru ‘Chenevottes’
“Here too the sulfur is quite strong and renders the nose more difficult to read though it appears to offer an array of citrus nuances as well as being the first wine to display any overt wood influence. The medium weight plus flavors are rich, full and intense with good balance and excellent length. This should age well over the short to medium-term. (89-92)/2013+

2009 St. Aubin “Le Banc”
“Mild reduction does not unduly detract from the otherwise pretty floral, citrus and white peach aromas that introduce rich and relatively generous flavors that possess good cut and punch on the racy and mineral-inflected finish. 88/2014+”

2009 St. Aubin “Les Combes”
“A discreet hint of SO2 that should be absorbed shortly blends into floral aromas that blend seamlessly into detailed, fresh and pure medium-bodied flavors that exhibit excellent precision, indeed to the point that this could almost pass for a 2008 in style. 90/2014+”

2009 St. Aubin “La Chatenière”
“An elegantly pure, airy and layered nose features aromas of orange peel, lemon, acacia blossom and lightly spiced pear. There is a bit more volume to the attractively plump, intense and minerally flavors that possess solid complexity to the dry and clean finish. This lovely effort should age well over the medium-term and I particularly like the sense of underlying tension. 91/2014+”

2009 Chassagne-Montrachet “Les Encégnières” (from 80+ year old vines).
“Reduction. There is fine density and an abundance of dry extract that buffers well the otherwise firm acid spine and shapes the rich middle weight flavors and punchy finish. This is a relatively powerful villages and should reward 4 to 6 years of cellar time. (89-91)/2014+”

2009 Chassagne-Montrachet “Chenevottes”
“Here too mild SO2 does not materially diminish the appeal of the otherwise pretty white peach, green fruit, resin and subtle citrus aromas. There is excellent precision to the clean and dry flavors that culminate in a tension-filled and punchy finish. This is really quite good. (90-92)/2015+”

2009 Chassagne-Montrachet “Champs Gain”
“Discreet sulfur notes detract only mildly from the otherwise attractive floral and citrus suffused nose that introduces relatively precise, cool, intense and delicious middle weight flavors that possess plenty of verve and fine length. There is only average complexity but there is good balance and refinement. (89-91)/2015+”

2009 Chassagne-Montrachet “Baudines” (from 45 year old vines).
“A ripe yet airy and cool nose offers up notes of wet stone, white flowers and pear that precede nicely rich flavors that also reflect an abundance of fine minerality on the balanced, intense and lemony finish. This is perhaps a bit riper than is typical for Baudines but it retains a good sense of harmony and energy. (90-92)/2015+”

2009 Puligny-Montrachet “Le Trézin”
“A classic if notably ripe Puligny nose of citrus, acacia blossom and white orchard fruit aromas gives way to elegant, pure and seductively textured middle weight flavors that possess fine length and really lovely balance. Despite how forward this is, I very much like the sense of harmony here. (89-91)/2013+”

2009 Corton-Charlemagne (a 50/50 blend of Pernand and Aloxe).
“An expressive nose of ripe green apple, lime, pear and wet stone aromas gives way to rich, serious and quite powerful large-bodied flavors that possess ample muscle on the intense, balanced and equally stony finish. This bad boy will require extended bottle age to be at its best. (92-95)/2021+”

2009 Bâtard-Montrachet (from the Puligny side).
“There is enough sulfur present to render the overtly ripe nose difficult to read. There is however excellent richness and serious size and weight to the broad-shouldered flavors that possess exceptionally good mid-palate concentration that buffers the firm acid spine on the explosively long and palate staining finish. This is terrific and should age gracefully for up to a decade. (92-95)/2017+”

2009 Chevalier-Montrachet
“As is usually the case, this offers an appreciable step up in elegance with dazzlingly pure aromas of stone, pear, acacia blossom, citrus and spice hints, all of which carry over to the wonderful and almost painfully intense medium weight flavors that display superb drive yet immaculate balance on the superbly long finish. Like the Bâtard, this is flat out stunning. (93-96)/2019+”

2009 Montrachet (from the Puligny side).
“In contrast to the expressiveness of the other grands crus in the range, this is closed to the point of being almost mute though there is real verve and a dynamic mouth feel to the huge, rich and exceptionally powerful flavors that, like the Chevalier, are borderline painfully intense on the forceful, energetic and exquisitely well-balanced finish. This should be spectacular in due time though patience will be required. (94-96)/2021”