Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru 2021

Product Information: Frost in the 2021 vintage reduced quantities of the 1er cru sites to such small volumes that Morgeot, Chenevottes and Baudines are all blended together here to make just one cuvee. This resulted in just seven barrels instead of 25, but the quality remains tremendous. This is likely the first and only time Pierre-Yves will make this cuvée three sites for the 1er Cru CM, making it a valuable addition to any collection. Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey’s white wines are whole bunch pressed, fermented with natural yeasts, aged on lees for up to 18 months in mostly in 350 litre barrels with no lees stirring and no filtration. Burghound describes 2021 as “the kind of vintage that they absolutely love. Otherwise, expressed, it’s a burg geek’s vintage par excellence. The best wines are superbly fresh and transparent as the underlying terroir is wonderfully clear; indeed it’s at the core of each wine…. Outstanding transparency though is not all there is as the wines are strikingly refreshing and tension filled.” Maker: Established as one of the young rising stars of Burgundy, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey in 2005 left his family Domaine, Marc Colin, where he gained a solid reputation for his outstanding white wines. Pierre-Yves took control of a share of the family vineyards (Domaine Marc Colin) from 2006 vintage. His first vintages have been made from vineyards and growers that he works closely with buying the wine as must and aging the wines in barrels which he has supplied. If the resulting wines meet his standards the barrels of wine purchased are then matured in his own cold cellar below his house in Chassagne Montrachet. The Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey estate was born in 2001 from the association of Pierre-Yves Colin (son of Marc) and Caroline Morey (daughter of Jean-Marc). Today they operate 13 hectares in the villages of Saint-Aubin, Chassagne-Montrachet, Santenay, Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault. Their production consists of 92% Chardonnay, 5% Pinot Noir and 3% of Aligoté grape variety. Working about 2 hectares from the family heritage, the other plots have come from different acquisitions over the last fifteen years, as well as a few plots in Fermages. Philosophy: The Chassagne vineyard dates back to the years 280 AD. Historically, the vineyards of Chassagne were mainly planted with Pinot Noir; the Grands Crus and some other plots were white (Chardonnay grape). In 1935, the INAO was created and set itself the task of defining appellations in order to ensure their quality and enhance them. It was also at this time that the Grands Crus of the Montrachet hill were delimited. The vineyard is located between 220 and 340 meters altitude on clay-limestone soils. Most of the hillside vines are based on Jurassic lands (-201 million to -145 million years old). Descending towards the plain, the soils are more recent, dating from the Quaternary (2 million years ago) and come from the erosion of the upper layers. Since the 1990s, the village has seen its proportion of vines planted with Pinot noir decrease in favour of vines planted with Chardonnay. Today, the village is world famous and renowned for its white wines, particularly thanks to the Grands Crus of Montrachet. Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey white wines are whole bunch pressed and fermented with native yeast. Ageing up to 16 months for Bourgognes, St Aubins and more than 18 months for top end white wines with no lees stirring in a very cool cellar. The red wines get partial whole-bunch ferments (about 30%) with very gentle pumping over and gentle vinification designed to maximise freshness and finesse. Long untreated corks for most wines and bottles sealed with wax. The resulting wines are built to age classically up to 10 years or more. Nose – Pear Fruit, Floral Flourishes, Crystalline Fresh, racy fruit on the nose with ripe apple and pear fruit aromas kissed with a floral edge and a firm mineral note. Palate – Dense White Fruit, Buttery Pastry, Mint Chiseled and concentrated, revealing aromas of pear, freshly baked bread, buttery pastry, mint and white flowers Finish – Long, Chalky, Incisive Satiny and incisive, with a long, chalky finish. The vineyards farmed by the domaine were so badly damaged by frost and rain in 2021 that the premier cru parcels in Chassagne (like the village-level vines) were blended together. At the premier cru level this includes Chenevottes, Caillerets, and Abbaye de Morgeot; the result was seven barrels instead of 25, but the quality of what remained was tremendous, with ripe apple and pear fruit aromas kissed with a floral edge and a firm mineral note. The texture showed pleasant density and nice ‘shoulders’ – admirable length, breadth and substance. This is impressive wine by any measure. – Decanter, 95