Cellar Favorite:
2004 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Montrachet Grand Cru

BY NEAL
MARTIN | MAY 19, 2025

The 2004 Montrachet Grand
Cru from Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is an elusive white Burgundy that amounts to one
barrel, perhaps even less. Colin set out on his own from Domaine Marc Colin
&amp; Fils in 2005, so this constitutes one of his first vintages, when he bought
fruit from the family domaine in order to bottle wine under his own label. Since
the 2022 vintage, ownership has been legally separated between siblings, not
that this makes a tangible difference in the wine in your glass. A friend from Florida generously offered this bottle of
2004 Montrachet at a casual
dinner in Beaune during Hospices weekend last November. At two decades of age,
it has a reticent nose at first, typical of many whites that season. It unfurls
with red apples, hints of lanolin and dandelion, a little crushed stone in the
background, though to be brutally honest, it never quite clicks into fifth gear
like many of Pierre-Yves’ wines are prone to do. The palate is more impressive
and demonstrates the width and depth one expects from this illustrious Grand
Cru. Given the season in question, the 2004 does not quite deliver the
complexity of the best vintages that I have encountered, and it’s a tad “curtailed”
on the finish. Yet, like all great terroirs, the Montrachet responds to
aeration in the glass, touches of chamomile and almond emerging almost timidly
with time, so that after 20 or 30 minutes, you are smitten. Sure, it is a
lovely Montrachet, though one that I feel has been surpassed by subsequent
vintages. 92/Drink 2025-2040 <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747662890522-CF_May192025.jpg"> © 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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