2014 Saint-Aubin Le Banc

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey harvested between September 9 and 18 in 2014 in "very warm conditions," with potential alcohol levels ranging from 12% to 13%. "It was an easy vintage in the vineyards and in the cellar," he told me, adding that he did not do any chaptalization or batonnage. "But I was never worried about having heavy wines," he pointed out. He compares the 2014s to the 2002s but believes that the new vintage has a better balance. "The power of the vintage is its wisdom; it had a natural balance so I didn't have to think, which is quite rare. The '14s remind me of great classic vintages like 1992 and 1985." Production ranged from 40 to 50 hectoliters per hectare, slightly lower than yields in 2013 but higher than those of 2012.

Colin-Morey told me he's slowly changing his view about winemaking. He still likes "clean and minerally" wines but he now believes that the best-aging white Burgundies need more ripeness "and no chaptalization." He went on: "Longevity is a function of a balance between ripeness and acidity."

Colin-Morey described 2013 as a more challenging year. "The wines are more straight and have less body." Except for the grand crus, he blocked a portion of the malolactic fermentations, because when the first lots finished their malos, he thought the wines lacked life and he "didn't recognize the fruit." Although the '13s are crisp and focused, he finds them interesting in their youth and more accessible than the young 2014s.