Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Hautes Cotes de Beaune Blanc Au Bout du Monde 2022

Pierre-Yves Colin is the eldest son of Marc Colin. After working as the winemaker at his father’s domaine from 1994 to 2005, he established his own domaine alongside his wife Caroline Morey from vineyards they inherited from their historic families. Since that time, he has rapidly become an icon in the Cote de Beaune and is now considered one of Burgundy’s best producers. His fastidious farming, incredible attention to detail, use of larger demi-muid barrels, and long elevage, makes each one of his bottlings a clear expression of its terroir and a study in mineral-driven Chardonnay. Now with his sons Mathis and Clément joining the family domaine, the wines continue to set the standard for what is possible in this famed region. This is not only one of the top domaines in Chassagne, it is also one of the finest domaines in the world.

Pierre-Yves Colin purchased three parcels in the Hautes Côtes in 2014 with Benoît Riffault and Emilie Sauzet, which he collectively refers to as ‘Au Bout du Monde’. The grapes get the same treatment: a light crush, virtually no settling and then into cask for a year and a further six months in tank. In 2022 the result was predictably sunny, but there were citrus notes as well and enough freshness to bring the wine into balance.

Critical Acclaim

90 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2022 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Au Bout du Monde was produced entirely from young vines, as this plot is being replanted at higher densities. Offering up aromas of orchard fruit, nutmeg and toasted hazelnuts, it's medium-bodied, with tangy acids and a mineral finish. The 2022 vintage is another success for Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, in style somewhat reminiscent, at this early stage, of the estate's 2020s. As ever, picking tends to be on the early side with a view to retaining freshness. As readers may know, Colin's bigger cuvées are crushed and see four-hour press cycles, whereas smaller cuvées aren't crushed but see even longer press cycles lasting five or more hours. Vinification and maturation in barrel, with a heavy emphasis on larger-format barrels, follow. As I wrote last year, since moving to his new, much colder cellars in Chassagne-Montrachet, he finds his wines retain significantly more free sulfur dioxide for any given addition, and he now feels he added more than was necessary—given these altered conditions—to his 2015s, 2016s and 2017s. So, some subtle adjustments have now been made in this regard, and readers can expect the wines to be a little less buttoned up out of the gates than has been the case in those three vintages. Now Pierre-Yves has so much space, he's also thinking about further extending the élevage of his lower appellations; in the next two or three years, he's contemplating fermenting and maturing them in 350-liter barrels for a year.

90 Vinous

The 2022 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Au Bout du Monde comes from a parcel of vines recovered by Pierre-Yves in 2016, necessitating re-planting; therefore, the vines here are young. This has a lively, precocious bouquet with white peach and citrus scents. The palate is impressive: vibrant and energetic, quite peppery in style with a precise and persistent finish.