Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Monthelie 2021

Monthélie sits in a genuinely enviable spot on the map — tucked between Volnay and Meursault, looking out at the first hills of the Côte de Beaune — yet it remains one of Burgundy's most overlooked villages, largely because it's sandwiched between two far more famous neighbours. Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, though celebrated above all for Chardonnay, produces a small quantity of genuinely refined Pinot Noir here, part of a broader red programme that includes sites in Saint-Aubin and Santenay. As with the rest of the domaine, the approach is exacting: sustainable, organic-informed viticulture, roughly 30% whole-bunch inclusion in the fermentation, and gentle, restrained handling designed to preserve freshness and finesse rather than extract power. The wine is made in the same 350-litre barrels as PYCM's whites — no lees stirring, early and rapid fermentation, malolactic completed by Christmas — reflecting the same unhurried, hands-off philosophy Jancis Robinson has called nothing short of genius.

The result is Pinot Noir of real delicacy: freshness and lift define the wine, with pure red fruit, subtle spice, and fine, well-judged tannins carrying through to an elegant, harmonious finish. It's more approachable in youth than PYCM's more structured Premier Cru reds, without sacrificing the sense of precision that defines everything the domaine makes.