Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey - Saint-Aubin 1er Cru 'La Chatenière' 2022, Burgundy, France

Introduction: The precision of the master of Pinot Blanc

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey (PYCM) is one of the most sought-after and influential Pinot Blanc producers of his generation. His style is a reference for mineral intensity, electric acidity, filigree texture and extreme longevity. The 1er Cru 'La Chatenière'in Saint-Aubin is one of his most prestigious parcels and lies on the valuable side towards Chassagne-Montrachet. A 2022 from this site embodies the quintessence of the PYCM style in an extremely warm and sunny vintage - an exciting challenge to preserve freshness and tension despite the climatic conditions.

Sensory description (youthful stage)

As a recently bottled wine from a young vintage, the 2022 already shows its characteristic character and density, but urgently needs bottle age to develop.

Colour

• Bright, pale straw yellow with intense greenish reflections. The colour signals youthful freshness and concentration.

Nose

The bouquet is restrained, but of enormous intensity and concentrated complexity. A reductive, stony austeritydominates , which is typical of the early development phase of PYCM wines.

• Citrus & pome fruit under pressure: Lemon zest, green apple, gooseberry, unripe peach.

• Mineral explosion: Dominant flavours of flint, crushed pebbles, chalk and an almost iodine salinity - the unmistakable signature of the barren, chalky soils of 'La Chatenière'.

• Reductive & spicy notes: Distinct notes of damp wool, matchstick (reductive, intentional), freshly grated ginger, white pepper.

• Suppressed fruit: The luscious fruit of the warm 2022 vintage is strictly enclosed by the mineral structure and reductive envelope.

Palate

The palate confirms the image of a taut, linear and highly concentrated wine with an enormous tautness.

• Texture: Dense, juicy and with a texture that is both creamy and nervous. The wine fills the mouth with extract, but is forced into a slender, vertical shape by the acidity.

• Acidity: The architectural backbone, it is laser-like, electric and of great length. It gives the wine its breathtaking tension, its mineral focus and guarantees its ageing potential for decades. It cuts through any potential heat of the vintage.

• Flavour development: A precise, almost austere development: first the stony minerality and salty note, then the citric freshness, followed by the spicy, reductive complexity.

• Finish: Extremely long, salty and characterisedby an invigorating, almond-like bitterness. The mineral finish dominates and leaves a clean, demanding impression.

Vintage & vinification

2022 vintage in Burgundy

• An extremely warm, sunny and dry vintage, comparable to 2003 or 2018. The challenge was to preserve freshness and aciditywith grapes of high physiological ripeness and potentially high alcohol. Only the best winegrowers with cool, early-ripening vineyards and early harvests were able to maintain the balance.

The PYCM signature

• Grapes: Late harvest for maximum physiological ripeness, whole bunch pressing with very high pressure for extract and structure.

• Vinification: Spontaneous fermentation in large pieces of wood (500 litres), long ageing on the fine lees (up to 22 months), no or only partial malolactic (depending on the vintage) to preserve the acidity.

• Goal: maximum transparency, mineral character and texture density. The wines are designed for extreme longevity.

Drinking maturity & ageing potential

Current drinking maturity

The wine is absolutely closed and not intended for immediate consumption. It is in a reductive "Sleeping Beauty" phase. Opening it now would be an analytical curiosity.

Development potential

• Earliest access: Not before 2027 (5 years from vintage).

• Optimal drinking window: 2029 - 2040+.

• Ageing potential:20-25 years or more with optimal cellaring . This wine will slowly open up, the reductive notes will fade and give way to a complex blend of ripe fruit, honey, yeast and ever-dominant minerality.

Rating & Recommendations

Potential rating: 94-96/100 points

(A definitive score is speculative, but the signs of a great wine are unmistakable). A Pinot Blanc of seismic mineral power and visionary austerity.

Recommendations:

• Storage: Store in a dark, cool (12-14°C) and vibration-free place.

• Decant: If enjoyed later in the recommended window, a short, careful decanting (30 minutes) can help.

• Serving temperature: 11-13°C.

• Food pairing (future): With sophisticated, fine dishes:

  • Fish & seafood: Roasted or poached pikeperch, scallops, lobster.

  • Poultry: Poulard in cream sauce.

  • Cheese: Mature Comté or mountain cheese.

Conclusion

The PYCM Saint-Aubin 1er Cru 'La Chatenière' 2022 is a Pinot Blanc for purists and the patient. It is not an accessible, immediate pleasure wine, but an investment in the future and a study in mineral density. In an extremely warm vintage, PYCM achieved a feat: to press a wine of cool, taut, almost ascetic austerity that transforms the warmth of summer into energy and tension. Anyone who ever wants to understand why mineral-reductive Burgundies are cult will find one of the most radical and convincing answers here. A future classic for the connoisseur. Absolute top class.