Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin Le Banc 2019

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey’s 2019 Saint-Aubin Le Banc is a beautifully poised white Burgundy that captures the purity and tension of this cooler corner of the Côte de Beaune. Crafted entirely from Chardonnay, it offers a precise, mineral-driven expression that is both approachable now and refined enough for the cellar. As one of the more accessible cuvées in the range, Le Banc is an excellent introduction to the house style and to the increasingly sought-after whites of Saint-Aubin.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, the 2019 Saint-Aubin Le Banc shows a pale to medium lemon color with a subtle green hue, signaling freshness and youth. The nose is lifted and refined, opening with aromas of ripe pear, orange oil, and Meyer lemon, layered with delicate white flowers and a touch of freshly baked wheat toast and crushed stones. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, bright, and taut, with a spine of vivid acidity that keeps everything focused and energetic. Flavors of citrus zest, orchard fruits, and a gentle nuttiness carry through on a long, saline-tinged finish. There is fine depth at the core beneath the racy frame, suggesting that the wine will put on a bit more weight and complexity with another year or two in bottle. Enjoyable now for its precision and drive, it should evolve gracefully over the next 5–8 years, gaining texture while preserving its elegant, linear profile.

Production
Saint-Aubin sits on cool, chalky limestone and marl slopes just behind the more famous hillsides of Chassagne- and Puligny-Montrachet, and Le Banc typically reflects this terroir with its tension and mineral finesse. The fruit is hand-harvested at optimal ripeness to preserve freshness and natural acidity. In the cellar, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey works with a minimalist, detail-driven approach: gentle whole-bunch pressing, fermentation with indigenous yeasts, and élevage in French oak (often with a restrained proportion of new barrels) on the lees, followed by a period of settling in tank before bottling. Sulfur is used judiciously, and the wines are bottled without fining and with minimal filtration to maintain purity and texture.

Food & Serving
This Saint-Aubin Le Banc is a versatile food wine, pairing beautifully with refined yet subtly flavored dishes. Try it with poached or grilled white fish, scallops, oysters, or crab, as well as roast chicken, veal in a light cream or mushroom sauce, or goat’s cheese and young, gently nutty hard cheeses. Serve at 10–12°C (50–54°F) to highlight its freshness and aromatic detail; it can be enjoyed slightly warmer in larger Burgundy stems as it opens in the glass. Decanting is not strictly necessary, but a brief 20–30 minutes in a carafe or some vigorous swirling in the glass will help the wine relax and reveal more of its floral and toasty nuances.

Producer
Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is widely regarded as one of the leading white wine producers in Burgundy, known for his uncompromising pursuit of precision, terroir transparency, and ageworthy structure. After working at his family’s domaine, Marc Colin, Pierre-Yves established his own label in the mid-2000s and quickly gained a reputation for some of the most electric and mineral-driven whites in the Côte de Beaune. Based in Chassagne-Montrachet, he crafts wines from top village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru parcels across Saint-Aubin, Chassagne, Puligny, Meursault and beyond. His meticulous vineyard work, low-yield philosophy, and restrained yet confident use of oak have made the Colin-Morey name a benchmark for modern white Burgundy and a reference point for serious collectors worldwide.