2020 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Vosne-Romanée, Red Burgundy, France.
The new Vosne-Romanée from Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is noticeably plush, rich on the palate and luxuriously, almost, forward with classic Pinot fruit at its core and lovely aromatics, it is bang on right out of the bottle without a hint of reduction, as found in the PYCM whites, and is very pleasurable in its youthful form. The medium bodied palate is nicely detailed and elegantly structured showing layers of silky black cherry, vine picked raspberry, red currant and Moro orange fruits along with deep floral element with rose petal and violets, as well as chalky mineral, smoky vanilla and tea spices. This round and supple red Burgundy, coming from limestone and clay soils, feels very open knit and expressive, even without decanting and hides some of the underlying earthy qualities that should come through with age, some would enjoy this and think it was maybe a new world wine, but I think over the next 5 to 10 years its pedigree will shine through and there will be not mistaking it for what it is, a pure Vosne-Romanée, I only hope I get a another chance to try it with some age. Typically, for his Pinots, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey uses a good percentage of whole cluster, up to 50%, and ferments them with native indigenous yeasts and allows a long evevage, around 18 to 24 months, in used French oak. With his village level bottlings he ages the wine with between 10% to 20% new wood and prefers the standard 228L barriques, rather than the larger format demi-muids he favors in his crystalline whites. The wines are all and always bottled unfined and unfiltered to preserve every nuance of the vintage and of the place.

Part of a Burgundy dynasty, Pierre-Yves Colin, who is the eldest son of legendary Marc Colin, has built a huge reputation for outstanding wines all on his own. It’s well noted, that after working as the winemaker at his father’s domaine from 1994 to 2005, he established his own domaine alongside his wife Caroline Morey, also a talented winemaker and part of another historic family in the region, from vineyards they inherited from those well know families, that are part of the fabric of French wine royalty. It’s not new news, but Pierre-Yves has become an icon in the Cote de Beaune and is one of Burgundy’s best producers, especially well regarded for his intense whites. His fanatical attention to detail in both cellar practices and with the farming, has helped make his wines some of the most coveted by collectors, wine industry pros and by other producers. Colin-Morey’s unique use of larger demi-muids barrels, and long elevage, makes each of the wines distinct, pure and with a transparent expression of its terroir, most clearly showcased in his mineral-driven Chardonnays, but not as well know in his reds too, though I always find them impeccably made and elegant, like this luxurious and floral Vosne-Romanée. The Saint-Aubin whites are still some of the greatest values in white Burgundy, while the upper end Meursault, Chassagne and Puligny Montrachet(s) are almost impossible to acquire here in the states, without an in with the importers or a famous restaurant. The reds, again, that sometimes get overlooked, are excellent and are lovely when they are young as this one was recently. The Vosne-Romanée village vines are in between Echezeaux and Nuits-Saint-Georges and just below the famed Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Grands Echezeaux Grand Crus, to name a few in the neighborhood, and offer up some of the Cote de Nuits best values, like this one!
($139 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

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