“Time Needs Time” - Pierre Yves Colin-Morey’s old school commitment to patience

The evening’s lineup

A very special dinner highlighting the grand cru bottlings of Pierre Yves and Caroline Colin-Morey, examining the importance of time and patience, both in terms of bottle age and with elevage, and most of all, the importance of seeing the whole picture.

Special also for the personal significance of this incredibly generous family, who welcomed me to work the 2019 vintage at their domaine.

Pierre Yves Colin-Morey was amongst the first wave of producers who led the move away from the style of White Burgundy which grew in popularity during the early to mid 90’s, one I associate with higher percentages of new oak, gentler pressing, less use of solids and lees, shorter elevage, later picking/higher alcohol, and more batonnage. In short, a style of immediate gratification, one that tried to mimic the toasty richness of mature Chardonnay in youth.

Amongst many reasons, premature oxidation and stylistic uniformity perhaps being the most influential, a new generation of producers emerged in the mid 2000’s, looking to wines and techniques of the past for inspiration.

PYCM first became popular during this initial craze for reductive, leaner whites and has solidified itself in the top echelon of Burgundian producers since. But to focus solely on reduction as the core of the style, as many people do, is a mistake. As with the wines of JF Coche-Dury there is so much more to PYCM, and is an oversimplification or ‘reductive’ of what makes them special.

Through a comparative tasting of their grand crus, I wanted to examine further how PYCM’s aesthetic amplifies the best characters of these sites and to see how these sites highlight different elements of the PYCM aesthetic in turn.

William Kelley has written me a few times in the last few years about how good the ‘09s are, particularly the Meursault Perrieres and the Batard Montrachet, and I feel the same way.

Aging glacially, structured intensely around chiseled dry extract and searing acidity, everything about the way things are done at this still young domaine is decidedly old school.

I believe that seeing the wines at 10+ years very much validates the domaine’s approach and is key to understanding what makes the wines special and unusual in this day and age.

A desire to pursue this old school approach was the impetus for Pierre Yves (PY from here on) to leave the helm of his family domaine to begin with, to push things further, to do things in a longer, more patient manner.

Since 2006, he’s worked almost exclusively with 350 liter barrels and bottled much later, a change that would’ve been much harder to make with an established style and other stakeholders at his father’s domaine.

While many associate PYCM with reduction, I find that the phenomenon is very much a by-product of the many decisions and details made to shape the structure and balance of the wine, rather than to produce reduction for its own sake.

From working at the domaine in 2019, I got a glimpse into the aesthetic values and the decision making process that drives the detail and choices made at PYCM.

I’ve been fortunate to taste a few mature White Burgundies with PY, and he’s quite familiar with wines from the 60s/70s and the structural elements that make them special.

During vintage, he said to me that beyond the longer and firmer pressing of the era, producers were all keeping wines at least two winters or Easters in barrel on the lees. Premature oxidation was not an issue.

For whites of that era, with structure built on high levels of phenolic content, dry extract as well as acidity, barrel fermentation and a suitably long elevage served to polish texture, intertwine structure and intensify everything. The same density and material remains, but time in barrel intensifies, refines and polishes the mouthfeel and texture.

Having tasted whites bottled at 12, 18 and 24 months, it’s clear that extended elevage brings a sense of freshness and elevates the sense of acidity as water and alcohol evaporate over time, leaving behind a higher proportion of dry extract and acidity.

As PY says, “most importantly, the longer you leave the wine on its lees it will change from something fragile to something confident, it knows where it is and where it will go.”

As Burgundy and the entire wine growing world faces greater climate uncertainty, the importance of this received wisdom of a minimum of two Easters on the lees becomes increasingly obvious, even more impactful than the more commonly heard ‘old saying’ of two winters.

If I were to sum up Pierre Yves’ approach in a sentence, it would be to do the right things at the right time, without compromise.

A few quotes of his that illustrate the point -

“With time, filtration is totally unnecessary. When you don’t give the wines enough time, you lose something.”

“[Y]ou cannot rush wine. You have to give it time. If it takes two days to rack five barrels, then take two days, and do it properly.” (1)

Perhaps my favorite of these nuggets of wisdom I’ve heard is “time needs time”.

I’ve often heard PY say that many of the innovations in modern cellars are about saving time, and filtration is one of those. Many producers shortened their elevage in the 90s, and filtering was a tool some used to achieve earlier bottling to capture wines in a fatter, richer style as was the trend at the time, as a new generation of wine consumers desired to drink wines younger and sooner.

The moment when I knew I wanted to work at and learn from PYCM was after having tasted their 17s out of barrel with my vintage crew from Dujac, then at Roulot and Lafon together the next day. The close comparison of the wines made immediately clear how much more energy, tension and structure there was at PYCM, the levels of acidity and dry extract were palpably higher.

With that in mind, It’s no wonder that PY has professed his love for Riesling on many occasions, saying in an interview with Jancis Robinson in 2008, “I love Riesling. Riesling is the model for me. Trimbach’s Clos Ste Hune 1990 from Alsace in particular.”

Seeing some numbers during vintage in 2019, it came as no surprise that the total acidities and dry extract quantities per liter at PYCM were in the same range as Keller’s GG rieslings, though obviously with slightly higher pH compared to their German colleagues.

It’s clear that when PY says Riesling is his model, he’s not exaggerating. By understanding his inspiration and benchmarks, it’s evident the acidity of great Riesling and dry extract of old school White Burgundy are the basis upon which his wines are built.

*The Keller numbers I learned from documentation for export, kindly provided by a friend.

So how did the wines taste?

Flight 1

2011 PYCM Corton Charlemagne - Bottled May 2013, from two sections, one of which is a west facing parcel on the Pernand side.

Very chiseled and salty, bursting with lime blossom, lime cordial and lime zest. There is so much in common with Keller in how the wine feels, the impact of structure and sense of three dimensionality.

Chalky, chiseled linear that is both classically PYCM and Corton Charlemagne, and the interaction between lean, wiry acid, dry-extract phenolic structure with subtle weight and viscosity reminds me of Keller.

Second pour is much the same with the first, but with a hint more creme fraiche viscosity, yet it feels fresher, brighter and more detailed at the same time.

Long long long. Beautifully viscous and giving as many 11s are right now.

2011 PYCM Meursault Perrieres - Bottled May 2013, which comes from 45-year-old vines located upon the lower reaches of the climat

Really perfumed, in a much more elegant, detailed place compared to the CC. Sesame, digestive biscuit, steely, slight Puligny orchid in character. Lemon oil, lemon zest, equally chiseled and chalky as the previous wine, but has more toasty hazelnut oil viscosity than the CC. Really saline, mineral, umami. Very pretty.

More lime cordial enters the mix to match and meet the hazelnut oil and digestive biscuit, as the orchid florals quieten. This is super expressive, detailed and shows all the reasons I love Perrieres in the hands of PY. This is very complete, chiseled density, viscous breadth, saline umami, purity of fruit.

Very Perrieres, very PYCM.

Second pour has so much choux pastry, brioche dough, hazelnut, one can see that this is Perrieres, but also that the vines towards the bottom of the parcel, with more weight and depth to add to the bones and structure.

Less obvious structure compared to the CC, but more multidimensional and with more subtly reductive umami dimension. But structure is growing and growing to match

The sole paired alongside is perfectly cooked, beautifully umami, subtle black bean, but not overpowering at all, adding a sense of depth to both wines.

The same goes for the beautifully smoked oyster, perfectly medium rare, tender and melting without any sense of bounce or chew.

Flight 2

2010 PYCM Bienvenues Batard Montrachet - Bottled April 2012

The most immediately expressive and fragrant of the wines from first pour.

Fresher and more mineral than the previous wines, speaking of the cooler summer as compared to 2011. Slightly more reductive, with subtle gun flint intertwining with grapefruit and lemon pith, chalky density, and a marked vein of salinity. Less viscous than both the previous wines. Very agrume/grapefruit pith in its expression.

The structure is much more obvious than the previous wines, more dense, more intense, longer and more chiseled. There is clearly more dry extract, this feels thicker skinned, with lower pH and the two amplify each other.

Second pour is even more dense, chiseled and searing, a real step up from the 11s.

Most immediately expressive of the Grand Cru Montrachet satellites from first pour, but is overtaken by the others by the end.

2010 PYCM Criots Batard Montrachet - Bottled April 2012

This was super shut down and unyielding upon first pour, but within 8-10 minutes this blossoms aromatically. Choux pastry, brioche, toasted sesame, more clay in its roundness and weight of texture, still very chiseled, but slightly less obvious structure. This shows more obvious toasty umamif vs the grapefruit pith reduction of the BBM.

Beautifully chiseled and grows and grows, but really with weight that speaks of CBM and its flatter site and deeper soils.

2016 Caroline Morey Criots Batard Montrachet - (0.14ha)

Even more expressive aromatically than the 10 PYCM Criots, perhaps a function of the less sulfur used at bottling after having moved to the new cellar.

Lemon oil, lemon zest, lemon and grapefruit pith reduction, + subtle toasty choux pastry, digestive biscuit, with more emphasis on purity of fruit in youth than the 10, which shows more of the toasty umami of bottle age.

The biggest difference is in how the wines feel, this is more dense, chiseled, with palpably greater mid palate dry extract cut, intensity and depth than the 10s. The concentration from frost hit yields is obvious.

Really beautiful with the first Cantonese clear broth, which brings an even greater sense of chiseled intensity, searing mid palate structure. There’s more of the sesame umami and subtle viscosity, everything feels amplified.

Second pour is super saline, with more delineation and detail than the 2010 PYCM. Obviously younger, but is more complete and with more of everything.

My favorite wine of this flight.

Flight 3 is another clear step up in detail and intensity from the previous flight. The sense of proportion and balance is the same, but the way the viscosity, layers and detail of flavor and structure interact, everything feels amplified.

2010 PYCM Batard Montrachet - Produced from 85+ year old vines owned by father in law, bottled April 2012

Immediately impactful and opulent on the nose, touching every corner, nook and cranny of the palate. Lemon curd, lemon zest creme fraiche, weight viscosity, hazelnut and Comte, but so dense, chiseled and dense at a higher level than all the other similar aged wines previously poured.

This was the most interesting wine of the night for many, as this was so clearly Batard in its weight, breadth and viscosity but more than one person said how the underlying structure, incisiveness and salinity equaled and even outstripped the Chevalier.

So unctuous, rich and deep, but without any sense of lacking freshness. So incisive and precise at the same time.

Perfect with the gelatinous unctuousness of the fish maw, which matches the weight and viscosity of the wine, bringing forth the sense structure and freshness when eaten with the wine.

2009 PYCM Chevalier Montrachet - Bottled in April 2011, from 60 year old vines

This has the least sense of weight, but no less depth, lots of toasty umami reduction and subtle choux pastry.

Everything feels a bit more quiet and subtle, but no less detailed. Of the three, this shows the most agrume/grapefruit pith reduction and saline, chalky precision. The acidity isn’t higher per se, but the expression feels most mineral.

Our second Cantonese broth really amplifies and highlights the detail and depth.

My last pour is glorious and sings of choux pastry, sweet umami.

2009 PYCM Montrachet - Bottled in April 2011

As much as I don’t want to sound cliched, this has everything.

Montrachet in every sense.

Less unctuous weight than the Batard, but brilliantly pure, with more mint, lime zest, lime cordial, grace and depth than the lemon curd and lemon creme fraiche of the Batard.

Equally chiseled and intense as the Batard, with more graceful and cohesive weight and viscosity.

Masses of retronasal hazelnut oil, choux pastry, ginger and digestive biscuit.

Most delineated, detailed and long of all the wines. I can still taste the wine 2 minutes after it leaves the palate! Absolutely crazy. The lingering, wafting retronasal aromas are absurdly mesmerizing.

Even enveloped by comparatively more viscosity and weight, this has perceptibly more dry extract and a greater sense of chiseled density than the Chevalier.

With another 15 minutes this has grown again in aromatic detail and expression. This feels like a solid wall of density and detail.

Most complete and captivating wine of the evening. Most precise balance, most chiseled, quiet viscosity and weight, detail of fruit, salinity, umami, all of which add up to the most wow factor.

What did I learn?

The greatest wines in the world are inevitably the ones that have most to say about both the place of origin as well as the values of the people that grow and craft them.

This tasting highlighted that the important distinction isn’t one between producer style and terroir but rather each producer’s understanding of the whole picture. How each detail and decision serves the character of the vineyard, the wine in bottle and what they hope to achieve. So often elements of what we perceive as ‘style’ are a function of decisions taken rather than the goal itself.

Burgundy is dotted with domaines that sit on both sides of the spectrum, ones that strive either for seemingly transparent as well as heavy handed styles, yet so many examples manage to all taste smothered and indistinguishable from cuvée to cuvée.

Because ultimately whether one chases a reductive, oaky or transparent style, if style, or imitating a certain set of flavors, is the ultimate concern, then style always will speak above all else.

Discourse shifts, tastes change, market trends swing and in the end, styles go out of style. Yet wines with a singular perspective, a point of view that is authentic and individual, they live forever.

From this tasting it’s obvious what PY is most concerned with is not how the wines taste upon release, but how they feel after a decade and much longer.

A rebuke to those who desire early opulence and accessibility (and resultingly early expiration) in Chardonnay, PY’s wines are a continued argument that White Burgundy’s claim to greatness is its ability to age, taking on layers of texture and flavor complexity built upon a base of relentless structure.

I believe it’s the responsibility of the vigneron to maximize the potential of each site and this tasting highlighted how admirably PYCM does by this measure.

The domaine makes no bones about their aesthetic and what approach they believe in. I’ve believed for a long time that between the incremental improvement every vintage, and their consistent approach to each cuvée, be it Bourgogne Blanc or Chevalier Montrachet, ultimately makes for very clear delineation between sites.

Through nuances of flavor, aroma, tactility, texture and structure, each of these wines spoke sparklingly clear of their site, its particularities and its interaction with the character of the vintage.

Seeing the detail and distinct difference in these wines from hallowed vineyards of such close proximity and a small window of vintages, this comparative tasting left no doubt that the aesthetic and emphasis on patience at PYCM serves to amplify those qualities and particularities in a way that is true to site and to the domaine’s own set of values.

1- (https://www.therealreview.com/2017/04/03/pierre-yves-colin-morey-the-humble-burgundian/)