iDealwine update: Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey

The bottlings of Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, an icon of the Côte de Beaune, are a clear expression of their terroir, and a study in mineral-driven Chardonnay. On the secondary market, collectors are fighting over his cuvéesBASED IN Chassagne-Montrachet, Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey was established in 2005 by husband-and-wife team Pierre-Yves Colin and Caroline Morey, both children of esteemed Burgundy vignerons. Recent releases and old vintages alike are no stranger to success in iDealwine auctions. The eldest son of Marc Colin, Pierre-Yves worked at the family domaine from 1994 until 2005. In 2001, with Caroline, he

set up a négociant business under the name Colin-Morey, thus starting the move away from the family estate. Then, in 2005, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey established his own domaine with his six-hectare share of the family vineyards. Having expanded the estate since its creation, Colin-Morey’s vineyard holdings now span 13 hectares, much of which are based in the Saint-Aubin appellation, with premiers crus

Chatenière, Champlots, and Remilly, and in Chassagne-Montrachet with premiers crus Chenevottes, Caillerets, and Abbaye de Morgeot. Purchased grapes come from around Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, and the grands crus Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet. A discerning winemaker with great attention to detail, over the years Colin-Morey has developed new techniques to promote the overall quality of his wines, particularly in response to the issue of premature oxidation. White grapes are whole-bunch pressed, and fermented with indigenous yeasts. There is no more lees stirring during the winemaking process, and the cellar is no longer heated to encourage the malolactic fermentation. Red grapes are fermented with around 30% whole clusters, with very gentle pumping over.

Élevage periods are longer than before, and the estate now uses larger demimuids casks, with about one third new wood. With the exception of its Saint-Aubins – which are bottled before the next harvest – the domaine’s wines are kept on their lees for up to 18 months. The wines are bottled without filtration and often without fining; the bottles are sealed with wax on top of corks that have not been treated with peroxide.

The estate’s legendary Premier Cru Meursaults are perhaps the most noteworthy examples of recent interest of Colin-Morey wines

Fastidious farming prevails in the vineyard. Grass is left to grow between some of the vines, while others are lightly tilled, and no chemical herbicides are used, encouraging the natural balance of the surrounding environment. Sons Mathis and Clément have now joined estate, with Pierre-Yves.

Colin-Morey’s outstanding Chardonnays are layered, energetic, with a backbone of minerality that shows through in all bottlings, from the Grand Cru down to the village releases. The deft use of oak combined with bright lemon fruit and a rich texture have made these wines a must-buy for collectors, sommeliers, and Burgundy drinkers alike.

Not to mention their aging ability, stretching well over a decade or more, especially for the estate’s top releases. With this pedigree of winemaking families and the finest Burgundian terroirs, it’s hardly surprising that PYCM’s bottlings are coveted by a growing number of enophiles. Following years of incremental increases, the past two years have seen a dramatic spike in auction results across the board.

BALANCING ACT

Colin-Morey’s Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru offers a genial balancing act between freshness, structure and intense fruit. The 2010 sold last year for €1,228 (£1,056) and hasn’t featured in an iDealwine auction since; the 2018 recently reached €800.

The powerful, dense Bâtard-Montrachet, produced from 85-year-old vines that always produce the estate’s ripest fruit, sells for upwards of €600 in most vintages; the immense 2015 went even further, reaching just under €900 in early 2022. Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2019 frequently goes for over €600.

Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey’s Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet premier cru offerings go under the hammer for at least €250 in all vintages, representing a twofold increase in auction results from as recently as 2020. The 2017 Les Caillerets Premier Cru sold for €320 in September of this year.

Yet the estate’s legendary Premier Cru Meursaults are perhaps the most noteworthy examples of recent interest of Colin-Morey wines. Meursault Les Perrières 2019 was snapped up for just under €700 this summer. The 2010 vintage sells consistently for €600, up from €300 in 2020. Les Genevrières 2017 recently went under the hammer for €500, whereas Charmes 2015 sells for just shy of €350. All vintages of PYCM Meursault currently achieve a minimum of €250 when sold at auction.

In the past decade, Colin-Morey has gone from rising star to full-fledged sensation in Burgundy. Lauded by critics as one of the most gifted winemakers of his generation, Pierre-Yves manages to produce benchmark wines with every vintage, and has rapidly grown to be one of Burgundy’s most respected vignerons. In a region where the top producers can never seem to produce enough wine to satisfy demand, collectors have shown that they are prepared to part with vast sums of money to procure Colin-Morey’s meticulously crafted expressions of white Burgundy on the secondary market.