Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey: The Magician of White Burgundy
Pierre-Yves Colin needs very little introduction. In the past decade, he's gone from rising star to full-fledged sensation in Burgundy and his wines have achieved "must-buy" status among sommeliers, collectors, and Burgundy drinkers alike. Pierre-Yves started working at his father’s winery (Domaine Marc Colin) in 1994, where he was the winemaker until the 2005 vintage. While at his father’s domaine, he started a negociant operation in 2001 with his wife, Caroline Morey, the daughter of another prominent Burgundian, Jean-Marc Morey. This became the foundation for his proprietary domaine Pierre Yves Colin-Morey (her named was affixed at the end) in 2006.
A personal story: My introduction to Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey (PYCM for short) was their 2012 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeots 1er Les Fairendes, which I shared with a friend. The deft use of oak and rich texture that effortlessly transformed into snappy, bright lemon fruit and tensile, wiry minerality caused my friend to remark, “This is like a magic trick in my mouth.” We both agreed that this was once of the best white Burgundies we'd tasted, and would enjoy quite a few Colin-Morey bottles over the next couple of years.
A recent horizontal tasting featured their 2014 Saint-Aubins, a few of the 2013 Chassagne-Montrachets, and his sublime 2012 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeots 1er cru which reminded me of what had made me fall in love with the wines in the first place. There were many individual favorites, but everyone at the table remarked how beautifully balanced, magnificently textured, and deliciously flavorful the wines were.
What’s the “magic trick” behind Colin-Morey? Great terroir, perhaps? He either owns or purchases grapes from outstanding parcels in Saint-Aubin, Chassagne-Montrachet, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and even grand crus Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, and Corton-Charlemagne. Meticulous care in the field? Pierre-Yves dictates picking dates even for those parcels he doesn’t own or farm. Sharp attention in the cellar? Wines are pressed at higher-than-normal pressure, matured in 350L demi-muid barrels, and are not subject to batonnage, fining, or filtering.
The wines are released twice a year with his St. Aubins appearing in late winter; today we're pleased to present the newly-arrived 2014s from Chassagne-Montrachet, Meursault, and Puligny-Montrachet. And while we’ve sold through most of our 2014 Saint-Aubins and 2013 Chassagne-Montrachets, we wanted to offer the wines before they sell out, so you might be able to experience the magic that is Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey.
-Jonas Mendoza
