Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Monthelie Blanc 2021

Monthélie Blanc is one of the newer additions to Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey's estate holdings — unlike some of the domaine's négoce bottlings, this comes entirely from PYCM's own domaine-owned plots in Les Plantes and Les Crays, vineyards sitting high on the hillside immediately adjacent to Meursault. The village itself occupies a genuinely enviable spot on the map, tucked between Meursault and Volnay, and the wine captures something of both neighbours — Meursault's richness balanced against Volnay's more restrained elegance. Pierre-Yves, who left his family's Chassagne-Montrachet estate in 2005 to build PYCM with his wife Caroline Morey, applies exactly the same hands-off philosophy here as across his celebrated range: fermentation and ageing in larger demi-muid barrels rather than smaller barriques, and a deliberate avoidance of batonnage (lees-stirring) to let the wine's mineral character speak clearly rather than building artificial richness.

The result is precisely the kind of "reachable" excellence PYCM has become known for: lemony mayflower and hazelnut on the nose, backed by pear, green apple, and freshly baked bread, with crushed limestone and a delicate floral lift adding real complexity. The palate balances a gentle, fleshier mid-palate against a fine thread of citrus-driven acidity, with a subtle, sophisticated touch of oak giving weight without ever tipping into heaviness — critics have called it "classy and highly detailed," noting it punches well above its humble village classification. I