2016 Nuits-St Georges, Aux Boudots, 1er Cru, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey

One part of the village vineyards forms a strip just above the D974 south of the town of Nuits, dipping down below the road in Prémeaux. More vineyards are on the steeper top slopes, often with a touch of the north in their otherwise eastern exposure. On the other side of Nuits, there is a much-wider swathe of village vineyard on the undulating ground below the main slope, which is populated by the Premiers Crus, as well as a narrow band at the top of the slope where there is barely any topsoil.

Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is based in the wine appellation of Chassagne-Montrachet in Burgundy. The eldest son of Marc Colin, Pierre-Yves worked at the family domaine from 1994 to 2005. Meanwhile, with his wife Caroline (née Morey) 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. This does not differentiate between wines from its own vineyards and those from purchased grapes. Pierre-Yves’s techniques have evolved since leaving the family domaine, in part in response to the problem of premature oxidation. There is no more battonage and the cellar is no longer heated to encourage the malolactic fermentation. The wines are kept in barrel longer (the barrels are from François Frères and Chassin, with about one third new wood, including 350-litre casks), the St-Aubins being bottled before the next harvest but the remainder being kept on lees for up to 18 months. The bottles are sealed with wax on top of corks which have not been treated with peroxide. His own vineyards are mostly to be found in the wine appellation of St-Aubin, including premiers crus Chatèniere, Champlots and Remilly, and Chassagne-Montrachet: village Ancegnières and premiers crus Chenevottes and Caillerets. However the full range of wines from purchased grapes covers wines from Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault and the grand crus as well, including very fine Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet and weightier Bâtard-Montrachet. Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy - The Book