Reductive precision — the electric mineral standard of Chassagne
Pierre-Yves Colin is the eldest son of Marc Colin, the pioneering Saint-Aubin producer who built one of the Côte de Beaune's most respected estates from six inherited hectares in 1970. Pierre-Yves spent his formative years immersed in the family vineyards and cellar, joining the Domaine Marc Colin team in 1994 and leading its winemaking for the following decade.
His wife Caroline Morey brings no less distinguished a lineage: the eldest daughter of Jean-Marc Morey and a direct descendant of a Chassagne-Montrachet winemaking family with roots stretching back to the mid-sixteenth century — her grandfather Albert Morey was among the first producers in the village to pioneer estate bottling. In 2001, while still employed at Domaine Marc Colin, Pierre-Yves and Caroline established their own négociant operation under the Colin-Morey name, sourcing and vinifying grapes independently to build their own style and commercial relationships.
After the 2005 harvest, Pierre-Yves departed the family domaine and, with his share of the inherited Colin vines — approximately six hectares in Saint-Aubin and Chassagne-Montrachet — formally established Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey. The domaine and négociant operations were combined under a single umbrella, giving Pierre-Yves access not only to the family-inherited terroirs but also to exceptional contracted fruit from across the Côte de Beaune's most celebrated appellations, including all five Grand Crus in the current range.
In 2014, Caroline inherited seven hectares from her father Jean-Marc Morey and launched her parallel Domaine Caroline Morey label from the same cellar facility — the two estates sharing a winemaking philosophy while maintaining entirely distinct identities and cuvée lists. More recently, in 2023, Marc Colin distributed his Montrachet holding among his four children, granting Pierre-Yves a parcel of 240 vines of Le Montrachet itself — adding the apex Grand Cru to the estate's range.
Their sons Mathis and Clément, trained at Jean-Louis Chave, Domaine Tempier and Domaine Dujac, are now actively involved in both vineyard and cellar operations.
The most recent and extraordinary addition to the range, received when Marc Colin distributed his Montrachet holding among his four children in 2023. One of the world's most sought-after white wine plots; quantities will be vanishingly small.
The most powerful and opulent Grand Cru in the range, and the one wine where PYCM departs from his standard new-oak policy — 50% new wood used here to match the wine's considerable breadth and structure.
More delicate and floral than the Bâtard — the reductive, mineral precision of the PYCM house style suits this elegant appellation particularly well. Frequently cited as among the finest expressions of Bienvenues made anywhere.
Taut, mineral and linear from the steep upper slope — one of the most cerebral expressions of the Grand Cru tier, bringing PYCM's electric tension to one of Burgundy's most demanding white wine sites.
The outlier in a predominantly Côte de Beaune range — rich, powerful and slightly broader than the Montrachet-appellation Grands Crus, handled with the same minimal-intervention approach but allowed more expression of Corton's distinctive weight.
PYCM's personal reference wine — he has described the 1979 from this parcel as at least as fine as his father's Montrachet that year. Stony and precise, with an almost gravitational tension between richness and mineral precision.
From three plots close to the northern border of Chassagne, not far from Le Montrachet itself — some as little as 15cm of soil over rock. With bottle age, its aromas are said to approach Montrachet in character. The largest Premier Cru estate holding.
A cluster of further Chassagne Premier Crus, each vinified separately. Les Baudines, from higher-altitude vines, is notably complex and flint-driven. La Maltroie, Abbaye de Morgeot and Grandes Ruchottes each offer a different expression of the village's multi-faceted character.
Two of Meursault's most celebrated Premier Crus — Les Perrières the more mineral and austere, Les Charmes the richer and more immediately generous. Both treated to the same no-batonnage, cold-cellar discipline as the estate wines.
A high-altitude Premier Cru in Puligny, producing a wine of fine mineral tension and floral lift in the PYCM style — the most northerly and delicate expression in the Premier Cru tier.
The heart of the estate holdings — Saint-Aubin was PYCM's training ground and the village where he built his reputation. Each Premier Cru is vinified and bottled separately; En Remilly, sitting just above Chevalier-Montrachet, is the most mineral and benchmark of the range.
An unusual high-altitude acquisition above 400 metres, co-owned with two other producers. Fresher and more linear than the village-level wines, producing an approachable but characterful entry point to the PYCM style.
Described by one US importer as "the vinous equivalent of the Gettysburg Address" on first tasting. Remarkable concentration and mineral focus for a regional classification — a reflection of the philosophy applied uniformly across the entire range.
PYCM's most distinctive technical signature: ageing in 350-litre demi-muid barrels — larger than the standard Burgundy 228-litre pièce — commissioned from François Frères and Chassin. The larger vessel reduces wood-to-wine surface ratio and limits new oak influence (typically 15–20% new wood, rising to 30% for the highest Premier Crus and 50% only for Bâtard-Montrachet). Saint-Aubins spend 12 months in barrel; all other wines 15–18 months. PYCM's winemaking has evolved explicitly as a response to the premature oxidation problem that affected many white Burgundies in the late 1990s.
The entire approach — cold cellar, no batonnage, no cellar heating during malolactic fermentation, untreated corks, wax sealing — is calibrated to maximise protection of the wine's freshness and reductive tension from pressing to opening. Grapes are whole-cluster pressed at higher-than-average pressure (around 2 bars ), without crushing, to extract juice of great finesse; the solids are not settled out after pressing. Fermentation occurs in the 350L demi-muids on indigenous yeasts. No batonnage is ever practised — the lees are left undisturbed throughout.
Malolactic fermentation proceeds slowly in an unheated cellar, completing around 8–9 months after harvest. All bottles are sealed with extra-long untreated natural corks (55 x 25mm — considerably longer than standard) that have not been treated with peroxide or other oxidising agents, then dipped in wax. This deliberate combination was adopted to provide maximum protection against oxygen ingress — a layer of precaution unusual among Côte de Beaune producers but central to the PYCM philosophy.
The Domaine practises viticulture close to organic without pursuing formal certification — soils are worked or grassed depending on slope steepness, yields are controlled through rigorous pruning, and dead vines are replaced through massal selection from the family's own heritage plants. Pierre-Yves personally dictates picking dates even for contracted négociant parcels he does not own or farm.
PYCM wines are immediately identifiable by their reductive mineral tension and almost electric acidity — a house signature that critics have called "a magic trick in the mouth." The wines prioritise precision over opulence, finesse over weight, and a saline, stony minerality over primary fruit. They reward patience — most Premier Crus need at least five years — and repay decades of cellaring at Grand Cru level.
PYCM's most distinctive technical signature: ageing in 350-litre demi-muid barrels — larger than the standard Burgundy 228-litre pièce — commissioned from François Frères and Chassin. The larger vessel reduces wood-to-wine surface ratio and limits new oak influence (typically 15–20% new wood, rising to 30% for the highest Premier Crus and 50% only for Bâtard-Montrachet). Saint-Aubins spend 12 months in barrel; all other wines 15–18 months. PYCM's winemaking has evolved explicitly as a response to the premature oxidation problem that affected many white Burgundies in the late 1990s.
The entire approach — cold cellar, no batonnage, no cellar heating during malolactic fermentation, untreated corks, wax sealing — is calibrated to maximise protection of the wine's freshness and reductive tension from pressing to opening. Grapes are whole-cluster pressed at higher-than-average pressure (around 2 bars ), without crushing, to extract juice of great finesse; the solids are not settled out after pressing. Fermentation occurs in the 350L demi-muids on indigenous yeasts. No batonnage is ever practised — the lees are left undisturbed throughout.
Malolactic fermentation proceeds slowly in an unheated cellar, completing around 8–9 months after harvest. All bottles are sealed with extra-long untreated natural corks (55 x 25mm — considerably longer than standard) that have not been treated with peroxide or other oxidising agents, then dipped in wax. This deliberate combination was adopted to provide maximum protection against oxygen ingress — a layer of precaution unusual among Côte de Beaune producers but central to the PYCM philosophy.
PYCM wines are immediately identifiable by their reductive mineral tension and almost electric acidity — a house signature that critics have called "a magic trick in the mouth." The wines prioritise precision over opulence, finesse over weight, and a saline, stony minerality over primary fruit. They reward patience — most Premier Crus need at least five years — and repay decades of cellaring at Grand Cru level.
PYCM's winemaking has evolved explicitly as a response to the premature oxidation problem that affected many white Burgundies in the late 1990s. The entire approach — cold cellar, no batonnage, no cellar heating during malolactic fermentation, untreated corks, wax sealing — is calibrated to maximise protection of the wine's freshness and reductive tension from pressing to opening.
PYCM wines are immediately identifiable by their reductive mineral tension and almost electric acidity — a house signature that critics have called "a magic trick in the mouth." The wines prioritise precision over opulence, finesse over weight, and a saline, stony minerality over primary fruit. They reward patience — most Premier Crus need at least five years — and repay decades of cellaring at Grand Cru level.
Reductive precision — the electric mineral standard of Chassagne
"I do things the old-fashioned way, which always takes more time."
Marc Colin establishes Domaine Marc Colin in Saint-Aubin with six inherited hectares from the Colin and Ponavoy families, building the estate that will shape his eldest son's palate and philosophy
Pierre-Yves Colin joins Domaine Marc Colin, leading its winemaking and developing an encyclopaedic understanding of the Côte de Beaune's finest terroirs
Pierre-Yves and wife Caroline Morey launch a négociant label under the Colin-Morey name while still at Domaine Marc Colin — building their own style, client base and contracted grower relationships
Pierre-Yves departs Domaine Marc Colin after the harvest; recovers his six-hectare share of the family's Saint-Aubin and Chassagne-Montrachet vines to form Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey
Caroline inherits seven hectares from her father Jean-Marc Morey and launches the parallel Domaine Caroline Morey label from the same cellar facility
The Au Bout du Monde high-altitude Hautes-Côtes de Beaune parcel is purchased jointly with Benoît Riffault and Émilie Sauzet
Marc Colin distributes his Montrachet holding among his four children; Pierre-Yves receives 240 vines of Le Montrachet — adding the apex Grand Cru to the estate range for the first time
Sons Mathis and Clément — trained at Jean-Louis Chave, Domaine Tempier and Domaine Dujac — join the family operations as the next generation takes shape
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