Tasted in Chassagne-Montrachet, 22 October 2020, with Pierre-Yves Colin.
SARL Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey
Chemin du Puits Merdreaux
ZA Le Haut des Champs
21190 Chassagne-Montrachet
Tel: +33 3 80 21 90 10
More reports for Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey.
Pierre-Yves on 2020:
“The only really bizarre thing has been the lack of visits, but that meant that all the things we’ve wanted to rearrange for ages, we can do now! The year started with some risks of frost but turned out to be minimal for our parcels – we lit some candles, in the end probably for nothing – the neighbours who didn’t seem to have similar yields. Of course, a precocious vintage and one where we could spend more time in the vines as we had so few visitors. Very little in the way of problems; starting our harvest the 20 August. We worried about the lack of rain, but again the chardonnay reacted very well – good quality and quantity – the balance seems simply magnificent. The combination of maturity and acidity has so few other vintage comparisons – I’ve never seen it before. I’ve been working since 1995, starting with my father, and you usually get one or the other – though perhaps the end result is a little in the direction of 1996. Maybe the vines are slowly adapting to such climate, it’s my impression – the chardonnay anyway – the pinot is having a harder time.”
Pierre-Yves on 2019:
“2019 was a more complicated vintage. My souvenir is the frost – we ended with between 30 to 70% fewer grapes depending on the parcels – St.Aubin was the worst-frosted area. But what followed was nice growing season and the fruit was superb, but the quantity was ‘thin.’ Less bad than 2016 but not that far away from that volume. Harvesting began 6 September and of course, the maturity was quite exceptional – 13.7-14.7° – we couldn’t really pick earlier because the maturity came so very fast – but we still have good acidities! 14 and 14.5° we’ve seen before but that was always due to botrytis and with that, you always lose acidity. You might say that 14° is over-mature but the grapes with 14° today look perfect. Still, we chose to block about 20-40% of the malos per cuvée – the same for Caroline – it wasn’t a question of by cuvée, more the number of barrels – 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 – to keep the maximum freshness – we also did that a little in 2013 – that was the last time. The first wines were racked into tank in August, others back into barrel – all 350-litre barrels. The last few wines we will taste still haven’t been moved from barrel.”
The wines…
An incisive range of 2018s from PY – the early wines were troubled so we can overlook them for now. The wines that had been racked into barrel were more open and much more easy to taste. There is much class here – fresh balance too – though at this stage it was too early to say ‘delicious’ – there are some great wines in waiting though!
2019 Bourgogne Aligoté
Parcel in Hautes Côtes de Beaune – 50-yo vines of a type with a slightly rosé skin – also 350 l barrels. The only wine with full malo in the range. It will be bottled in January with the St.Aubins. Our last vines harvested 12.7°
That’s a rather forward and perfumed nose. Steely, fresh, a palate that recalls Chablis from style if not flavour. Lots of juicy energy in the finish – super!
Made from 4 parcels spread across Meursault, Puligny, Chassagne and St.Aubin – made exactly like all the other wines, just a shorter elevage. Not yet labelled Côte d’Or ‘It can be but the clients have never asked for it.’
A deeper nose, faintly reductive, seemingly a little mineral. Wide, more supple, bright energy, but with fresh comfort. A fine indeed completely delicious more mineral finishing favour. Bravo!
2019 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Au Bout du Monde
Vines in the direction of Nolay, bought in 2014 – 2015 was the first vintage – from an 8 ha domaine shared with Sauzet – about 6km from domaine, vines on hillsides, over 400m with plenty of clay in this soil. Harvested about a week later than the vines around Chassagne – patience is always needed.
More density of aroma. More obvious airy freshness, practically a little floral too. Ooh, that’s a lovely finish, more saline and floral. Completely delicious again – very different though.
Unfortunately, no more Pernands, lost the vines…
2019 St.Aubin Le Bon
A blend of multiple parcels, but all from this same village’s lieu-dit, with 3 generations of vines. In totality, this is the largest parcel of the domaine at over 1 hectare.
Adding a little more vibration to aroma here. Direct, melting, still finely fresh, starting to see the classic PYCM agrume fruit here – and delicious it is – long finishing. It looks like it’s going to be a great range this year…
3 1er crus combined: Combes, Perrières and les Creots – about the same of each – made first time in 2016 due to the frost, ‘the name is from my maternal grandmother who died about the same time as the frost in 2016. We continue…’
Super the nose is agrume but shaded more towards oranges – the flesh. Bigger, more energy, a slight bubble from the gas – more zesty in the finish – there are not so many wines like this in 19. Saline and beautifully long – yes!
2018 St.Aubin 1er Champlots
A tighter nose – higher tones but not many. More direct, fresher, you would say meagre until the favour slowly floods your palate – steely, mineral wine. So refreshing and saline finishing, but the longest finishing yet…
Older vines than Champlots (30)
A relatively tight nose today. Styled like the last wine but already with more width and a little more depth to the texture. So mouth-watering in the complex finish – yes! Again!
About 60 yo vines – as was the last.
A compact nose but one of pure lemon citrus – not too ripe. Mouth-filling freshness, Good energy, a small depth to the texture too – so silky. Again a burst of super-finishing flavour – this could be great!
2019 Chassagne-Montrachet Vielles-Vignes
3 parcels in the direction of Puligny.
More depth of aroma, a slight reduction perhaps. Big, wiry, sleek at the same time – certainly concentrated. Yes, a small reduction here but beautifully textured and well balanced. Another winner, though I would wait longer for this one. Very long…
The following all from barrel but previously racked:
The oldest chardonnay vines of the domaine – always an early harvest. A tiny climat, not a lot more than 1 ha, next to the Puligny of the same name, below Bâtard on the Chassagne-side. Racked and back into barrel with gross lees from now.
Not very forward but the width of complex agrume is very inviting, practically a little perfume here. Steely, fresh, layered, mouth-watering – the villages with absolutely everything – including a little finishing oak flavour – but what a finish! bravo!
2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Chenevottes
More width of aroma here, a textured depth too – a good invitation. Fresh, incisive – a wine of impact, but nothing hard-edged here – actually this becomes quite textural in the middle. So mouth-watering but here with a little suggestion of finishing tannin – a very rewardingly textural wine…
2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
2 parcels; Fairendes and Abbaye de Morgeot
A little higher-oned, almost a faint spice accompaniment. Fresh again, super attack, faintly oaked this time, love the intensity here – juicy intensity. Sparkling flavour in the finish – so good!
2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Baudines
Already a high climat but this parcel is at the very top – late maturing, cooler area.
A nose that’s again, a bit more compact but also a nose with depth and texture. More mineral width of flavour here – very mineral – perhaps accentuated with a slight reduction. Bright growth of super-juicy finishing flavour, again with a hint of tannin. To wait for but super…
2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Caillerets
Parcel from parents towards the top. ‘It’s my reference for all the other wines, never high alcohol, never low. The 79 was at least as good as my dad’s Montrachet that year.’
Not a big nose, but a very fine nose, adding a modest floral dimension too. Like the last wine – fully mineral, perhaps just a little ‘easier’ to appreciate than the Baudines today. Really wide and mouth-watering the finish – and with an extra level of persistence here. A baby wine for sure but with so much potential…
2019 Puligny-Montrachet 1er La Garenne
‘A parcel from my aunt, made since 2013. More than 80 years old vines, high on the hill, late harvested vs other parcels
A more depth of agrume aroma here – inviting for sure. Very fresh – completely mouth-watering – tension if you like but that’s not lacking in any of PY’s wines, though certainly, this has a little higher-toned dimension of fruit. Great finishing, of course.
3 lieu dits; Vireuil, Narvaux and Grands Charrons
A little more weight of aroma here subtly spiced but also subtly floral. Big in the mouth – lots of energy, more obvious depth to the flavours too. Really a chewy depth of finishing flavour – a little less ‘fine’ than most of the previous 1ers but no less a great wine!
2019 Meursault 1er Charmes
A higher parcel on the Puligny side of the climat, almost touching on Perrières.
This has a higher-toned slightly mineral extra note – interesting, inviting. Vibrant, fresh – superwide, steely but never too overt as there’s a few mm of depth to this texture. Growing over the palate, faintly ginger-spice towards the end. Really tenaciously finishing. I would not be embarrassed to drink this right now – but, of course, you should wait….
PY’s Perrières is from the lower part of the vineyard. ‘We’re at the bottom and there’s plenty of soil here so it rarely suffers from the drought.’ These are the smallest cuvées so have the largest effect from blocking the malo on one barrel.
The brightest, most open, most welcoming nose of all. In the mouth more composed, mineral – not quite steely as there a little more textural depth – but so wide, so delicious, so good. This will be great wine without a doubt. A great finish – just so persistent – bravo!
These wines not racked from their barrels so still with original lees:
Also lost Pernand side of this with the other wines from Pernand, so this is all Languttes (Aloxe) there was a tiny amount of Pernand – maybe 10% only because of the frost in the 16, but this is now 100% Aloxe. ‘I started with this in 2003 and it’s still something of a mystery to me; it’s a grand cru and I pose questions versus the grand crus here but in the end it’s all about interpretations. Always a surprising wine. The logic is the opposite of Bâtard for harvesting – I wait a little to gain a little depth, I think it benefits from maturity…’
Nice depth and an almost glossy style to this ripe lemon fruit. Wide, super-fresh, really very mineral in style, so mouth-watering but with intent, with intensity – this wine means business. Great to have! You have to wait for it but the finish builds and builds so impressively…
2019 Bâtard-Montrachet
Vines in Chassagne, just… ‘Bâtard seems to suffer less in hot years – there’s less stress, it has great regularity, it can be generous with grapes so we have to be careful right from the start, removing the buds. Always tiny grapes, millerandes, always one of the ripest we harvest.’
Deep – broad, faintly reduct5ive – a wine of presence again. Big in the mouth – all the nooks and crannies are filled, but whilst there’s a certain fat there’s no lack of balance to this mouth-watering flavour. Big wine, grand cru wine – insinuating its flavour in the finish – a big finish, only here there’s a slight return of the aromatic reduction.
2019 Chevalier-Montrachet
The middle tier of the vineyard
Wide, airy – that’s super – but not today showing the same definition as the last two. Wide, definitely supple, growing in intensity – good – a little soft-focus this wine today – probably behind in the elevage, but the depth and intensity of flavours are first-rate. The finish is great, and showing a hint of barrel today – but modestly so, again with a little tannin to remember it by!
