At the Apogee of White Burgundy: 2016 PYCM
Posted on: 01/17/19 6:56 PM
Burgundy has a knack for acronyms – DRC (Domaine de la Romanée-Conti), CSJ (Clos St. Jacques), MdT (Montée de Tonnerre), RSV (Romanée-St.-Vivant). Often acronyms arise from familiarity, as a sort of short hand. None of those cited above, for example, would be considered under-the-radar. So, when Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey joined the ranks of the acronymed, you might say he has “made it.”
Of course, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is a mouthful and an acronym helps. But PYCM has also become a singular phenomenon in Burgundy, responsible for what can only be called a cult phenomenon. Pierre-Yves is the eldest son of Marc Colin, and he worked at the family domaine from 1994 to 2005. His wife Caroline (née Morey, daughter of Jean-Marc Morey) and he had established a négociant business in 2001 under the name Colin-Morey. After the 2005 harvest he left the family domaine, taking with him his six-hectare share of the vineyards, which now form part of the Colin-Morey label.
Thus Maison Colin-Morey was born, and with it one of Burgundy’s best white wine houses, which today sits alongside Ramonet, Roulot, Coche, Leflaive and the rest of Chardonnay’s most revered hands.
There are no distinctions made between purchased grapes and Domaine vineyards, though most of the Domaine holdings are in Chassagne and St. Aubin. It is the latter that made PYCM famous, and in so doing brought deserved attention to the village itself, which is now rightly viewed as one of the finest sources for high quality white Burgundy that won’t destroy budgets.
With distinctive oversized bottles and wax capsules, the bottles themselves seem to announce the quality within them. Taut minerality, tension and intensity are hallmarks of the PYCM style. There is no lack of fruit, rather quite the opposite. And the wines can leave you wondering how something so rich and powerful remains so damned light on its feet. In short, this is the promise that white Burgundy fulfilled.
These wines are surely among Burgundy’s best and as a result have become very difficult to secure in any quantity. I have a good range available, and though the range is broad, there is not much depth. Should demand exceed supply, expect allocations.
Back to Blog