Producer Feature: PYCM

July 14, 2021

What the heck does that stand for? If you aren’t already hip, PYCM is an abbreviated form of the name “Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey,” a modern rockstar of a winemaker hailing from the Côte de Beaune in Burgundy, France.

Wine knowledge among our readers is quite discrete so I will give some background on Burgundy first. In brief, Burgundy is regarded as one of the most important (if not the most important) wine regions in the world. The 50 square mile area in east-central France has history of grape growing for wine production dating back to the second century AD. A simple rundown of the wines is this: white means 100% Chardonnay, red means 100% Pinot Noir. There are exceptions to this rule, but remember this is a crash course.

The most ‘important’ wines come from the Côte d’Or, or the “golden slope.” This area is in the northern portion of Burgundy and it’s subdivided into two areas. For this week’s focus, we’ll hone in on the Côte de Beaune because that’s PYCM territory. Pierre-Yves is the eldest son of the legendary Marc Colin, pioneer of modern winemaking technique in the Côte de Beane – and he is doing amazing things with his own projects today.

Pierre-Yves worked at his father’s domaine as the winemaker from 1994 to 2005 and began his own production in around 2007. He has become one of the hottest names in Burgundy in the last decade and his wines have done all the talking. In a bit of an avant-garde style, he has made the choice to use massive demi-muid barrels (600 liters in volume, as opposed to the traditional 225 liter barrique). He also has made the deliberate choice of avoiding battonage, an active, rather traditional practice during the winemaking process. During battonage, the winemaker stirs the wine every once in a while during primary aging in barrel on the fine sediment, or “lees.” Both the use of larger barrels and the aversion to battonage creates a much more linear, freshened profile in the wines produced – especially the whites. Among many other practices, these are the techniques that PYCM is said to have been one of the pioneers of in the last decade or so.

I’ve had the pleasure of tasting PYCM on multiple occasions, and without fail, every experience is one deeply remembered. The aromas, the subtle complexities in the flavor profile, the evolution of the wine as it sees more oxygen in decanter or in glass – it’s all well worth the value of the price-point. We have assorted whites and reds from PYCM, a very difficult producer to source. Come check them out!

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