2017 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey St. Aubin 1er Cru "Cuvée Marguerite"

Colin has elected to produce a 2017 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Cuvée Marguerite, a blend of the lieux-dits En Créot, Les Combes and Perrières that debuted after the 2016 frost. Exhibiting aromas of pear, fresh mint, white flowers and blanched almond, it's medium to full-bodied, bright and incisive, with tangy acids and a chalky finish. Pierre-Yves Colin described the 2017 vintage as "pure and transparent," with the wines nicely defined by their terroirs. They are, he adds, "more charming than I imagined—less 'cold' in style." Old vines, he says, produced notably more interesting musts than younger plantings, an observation borne out along the Côte. Colin began picking early, on August 28, as usual privileging freshness; though I wonder if a successful experiment with picking his Corton-Charlemagne a little later than had been his habit suggests that the stylistic pendulum may be about to subtly swing at this address? In any case, he has produced a successful range, true to the strong house style, though showing comparatively little overt reduction when I visited after the harvest. As ever, no distinction is made on the labels between domaine and négociant wines, and Colin is increasingly taking responsibility for farming the parcels from which he purchases fruit.(WK)