TN: PYCM 2014 St. Aubin PC Les Champlots

Popped and poured. Shoot, was extremely excited for this wine as the BB was a QPR superstar so I assumed this wine would be a step up from that. Reductive at first, which blew off quickly, but then left the exact opposite type of Chardonnay I enjoy. Too opulent with excessive oak, banana, cream, butter, caramel, and not nearly enough of any type of acid or structure. More Rombauer and Aubert than Dauvissat and Fevre. I gave the next glass an hour and didn’t notice any discernible change. This wine gives me pause about entertaining the thought of buying more WB. Maybe I need to stick to Chablis! 87pts.

Vintage? Perhaps try Lamy St Aubins, better than the PYCM renditions IMO.

Hi Kent! The vintage was 2014. I’ve actually purchased a couple Lamy St. Aubins around the same time as the PYCM. Hopefully, they fit my palate a little better.

Hi Jared, I read your TN on CT since I have a few bottles. I am surprised by your description because that is not at all the style of PYCM I am used to and look for. I will open one bottle soon and report back.
FWIW I have also read the reviews of Jancis Robinson and Burghound on this wine, and while they do mention fruit richness, they also both speak of freshness. AM goes as far as mentioning a firm(er) acid spine, and a very refreshing finish on citrus fruit. There seems to be a contrast to your lack “of any type of acid or structure”.

Hi Jared,

I’ve had a few St-Aubins from PYCM in 2014… and I don’t recognize your description… probably you had an off bottle.

The 2014’s are very mineral, fresh and high acid, in the style of the 2010’s… see notes below

2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Chatenière - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru (25-01-17)
Loads of grilled hazelnut, brioche, pain grille, yellow apple, mineral citrus… Pure silky citrus, green apple, some fat smoothening the acidity, very delicious!! (94 pts.)

2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin La Pucelle - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin (17-08-16)
WOW, very concentrated nose of smoke, yellow straw, strong green and yellow apple… Super long aftertaste, crisp acidity, loads of yellow and green apple, lenght of 30 sec, 2014 is a great vintage for PYCM!! (94 pts.)

2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Chatenière - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru (09-02-16)
Very nice nose of grilled hazelnuts, smoke, ripe citrus, flint stones, this nose is the closest to Coche Dury style! Delicious taste of ripe apples, citrus, very nice minerality, great tension and fat… I just love the style of Pierre Yves Colin Morey!! (93 pts.)

2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru (12-01-16)
Light nose of citrus and mineral… yellow apple, citrus, fatness, nice lenght! (92 pts.)

2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin Le Banc - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin (12-01-16)
Nose of green apple, green citrus… taste of grilled hazelnut, brioche, butter, yellow apple, nice citrus and fat (89 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Gilberto,

I certainly wouldn’t compare my notes to Robinson’s or Gillman’s. They are infinitely more experienced than I am, certainly with white burgundy, as I am just a schmo from Maple Valley, Washington. For me on that night, I perceived the oak and butter to obscure and kind of overtake the acid. There was citrus and acid present, but just not in the degree I’d hoped. I’m definitely not giving up on PYCM because of the one bottle (many factors could have contributed for it not showing as I’d hoped). The reason I purchased the bottles was the terrific reputation the winery has on this board and the stellar reviews so my mind is still open. I appreciate your feedback and hope you report back when you crack one open. Cheers!

Philippe,

Your reviews are one of the reasons why I purchased said bottles. That’s why I was so surprised the wine came across as it did, for me. The vintage descriptions you give is the exact type of chardonnay I love. Hopefully just a bad bottle…but if not, I’ll blame you! neener

Jareed, I’ve had very few bad bottles with PYCM (1/20 max!)… But I don’t know how your bottles have been transported… maybe cooked, I hope not for you… Otherwise you are my guest in Brussels to taste some well stored PYCM… I made a huge stock in prevision of crazy price increase :slight_smile:

PYCM seems have a fatter style than some. It didn’t surprise me at all that someone who prefers traditional Chablis would be at least a bit off-put by this wine.

But I am curious as to your opinion on Lamy Jared. You should see a decent bump in quality if you have the St. Aubin 1er En Remilly, and maybe another slight bump in favor of the style you prefer.

Tasting Saint-Aubain is very interesting because the vineyards are very different. There is a warmer part and there is a cooler side valley. Therefore it is a fun to try to explain the wine by looking at the map Weinlagen

I second this. The PYCMs can be heavy-handed, though some of the fleshiness does subside if you leave it open for a day or two, usually showing a nice mineral spine. For a Chablis drinker, though, I can’t say I’m at all surprised by Jared’s reaction, either.

I’ve read, or at least been given the impression, that Lamy is more of a Chablis-drinker’s white burgundy, but haven’t had one in a while, though do have a 2014 standing up here to try in the near future. But if I had to make an educated guess, I’d be willing to bet that a Lamy will yield similar results.

Last night I cracked a 2014 PYCM St-Aubin ‘Les Combes’ 1er. Initially and particularly aromatically it can across as a bit exotic, with almost tropical overtones and malo notes of custard apple. However the palate was strict and crisp, almost Chablis like and what I really love about the '14 vintage. As it breathed up, aromas slipped into more of the white peach and citrus spectrum. Really liked it.

Have you had the 2013 of this, by any chance? The reviews on CT haven’t been great, but I haven’t opened any of my own. A 2010 was very good a few years ago.

I do have a few bots of the '13, but don’t recall it specifically. I have a couple of '13 St Aubin premier crus, but my recollection is that they are below the level of the '14s (no surprise) and are a tad fatter at this juncture.

I have also tasted through all of the 2014s (St-Aubin and elsewhere). With the exception of the St-Aubin Le Banc, I didn’t notice any unbalanced oak.

PYCM’s wines employ a heavy hand with the reduction, but I generally find them fresh and mineral-driven, without any overt new oak.

Contemplating a few bottles of Lamy 2015. I don’t suppose any one here has tasted any? SO far all I have to go on is Purple Pages.

As well as the St Aubins, I’m also being offered a couple of Lamy Chassagne Montrachet - Les Chaumees and village wine La Goujonne. I was initially after St Aubin (QPR etc) but wondering about these also.
(With apologies for any thread drift). Any comments?

Richard, the Lamy Chassagne La Goujonne is a red wine. Nice wine, but red.

Thanks for reminding us (seriously). Amazing how the wines really do “fit” their location. It’s always interesting to me that the Murgers is noticeably richer and fleshier than even Chateniere or Remilly (the ones I have the most experience with).

Jared, was this from me? PYCM is not for everyone. Indeed, try Lamy or, maybe better yet, Jean-Marc Vincent’s Santenay or Auxey-Duresses whites, which are about as Chablis-like as it gets in the Cote d’Or. The 2014s are lasers.

Thanks for that, it wasn’t indicated on the list I was given. The few red Chassahes I’ve had have all been very tasty , so now I have an extra decision!