Colin-Morey 2013 St. Aubin
1/17/15 -
This shouldn’t come as news to anyone who loves white Burgundy, but Pierre Yves Colin-Morey has risen to the top rank of the region’s producers. That they have done so based on the less-than-fashionable appellation of St. Aubin, is in some ways the more notable accomplishment. Considered a rising star over the last decade (though he worked at his family’s Domaine Marc Colin until 2005), Colin-Morey’s wines have achieved must-buy status among Burgundy lovers. They supplement their estate-grown fruit with top flight purchased grapes, making them something of a hybrid negotiant. The winemaking is hands-off and deliberative, producing wines which combine beautiful fruit purity with vivid terroir delineation. Any wines considered below their standards are sold off.
The grapes are pressed slowly under high pressure into barrels where fermentations are started with native yeasts. They undergo a long elevage in 350 litre demi-muid rather than the typical 228 litre barrel, moderating the influence of wood on the wine and preserving the aromatic purity of the fruit. There is no lees stirring, and the wines are bottled unfiltered. Additionally, Colin-Morey has been proactive in the prevention of premature oxidation, utilizing larger diameter corks and wax capsules. These are wines to cellar; while a bit reductive in their youth, they blossom with age to reveal great finesse, concentration, and precision.
As with the past few vintages, the yields were down in 2013. A late, cold, damp, challenging spring was followed by a cool growing season with harvest coming in October. The weather produced cool-toned wines with acidity and terroir detail, if not weight. Fortunately, St. Aubin managed to mostly avoid the hail which afflicted other villages in the Côte de Beaune. Some have compared the vintage to 2004 with greater phenolic ripeness, which (given how Colin-Morey’s ‘04s are showing now) is an enticing prospect. Below are the 2013 St. Aubins along with a few remaining bottles from the 2012 vintage.
