More 2013s from Colin-Morey
7/20/15 -
There's something admirable about winemakers whose wines seem to transcend vintage. One such producer is Pierre Yves Colin-Morey. Considered a rising star over the last decade, Pierre Yves Colin worked at his family’s winery until 2005 while starting his own label. His wines have since achieved must-buy status among Burgundy lovers. Colin-Morey supplements the estate-grown fruit with top-flight purchased grapes, making them something of a hybrid negotiant. The winemaking is hands-off, producing wines which combine beautiful fruit purity with vivid terroir delineation.
The grapes are pressed slowly under high pressure into barrels, where fermentations are started with native yeasts. The wines 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.
A couple of words on the 2013 vintage in Burgundy:In 2013 the whites have ample fruit with an energetic mineral edge, floral aromatics, and great freshness. They display greater richness than 2008, better ripeness than 2004, more purity of fruit than 2010s, but a hint less acid. The secondary fermentations were incredibly long to the point where at some domaines the malolactic fermentations finished after those of the 2014s. These are very terroir specific, have gorgeous aromatics, and make great candidates for mid-term aging. John McIlwain