“My grandparents used to have to pick up customers in the centre of the village and drive them to their cellar to try to sell bottles,” says Mathis Colin of Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey. Times sure have changed. He and his brother Clément, who are gradually taking over the running of PYCM (as it’s known to its legions of fans) have no such concerns. They are part of a generational shift that has made Chassagne-Montrachet the most exciting village in the Côte de Beaune, and the wines of PYCM are quite capable of selling themselves many times over.
PYCM is a benchmark for modern white Burgundy. Since the early 2000s, when Pierre-Yves Colin and his wife Caroline Morey began producing their own wines, their evocative, smoky style has made them into a cult domaine. Reductive winemaking, with a slow press followed by long ageing, undisturbed, on the lees, results in detailed wines with a trademark note of gunflint. This, married with the richness and generosity typical of Chassagne, is the style that has come to define the best modern white Burgundy, and PYCM are one of its most brilliant exponents.
These days, even if you pay for your own taxi to the domaine you’ll find it difficult to get hold of the Premier Crus, which command high prices and are strictly allocated. But the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc 'Bout du Monde' offers a window into the PYCM style at a more affordable price. It’s a beautiful wine from a modern icon.
