Across the board, 2020 white Burgundies are receiving a lot of hype, and the wines deserve it. This vintage will join the ranks of 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2017 as the best whites of the last 20 years. What stands out in this latest vintage? The warmer season gave us wines with no shortness of charm. Additionally, the underlying tension and overall balance are just about perfect. 2014 may be the best of those previously mentioned (and will make for old bones, no doubt), but 2020 has an irresistible pleasure factor.

Once I knew Burgundy's 2020 vintage was special, I made sure to get my hands on as much Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey as possible. Quantities are always hard to come by because of Pierre-Yves's celebrity status, but this list covers a nice range of his first releases. Now is the time to take advantage of the terrific value of the more humble appellations (Meursault, Puligny, and Chassagne cuvées will arrive next year). The biggest change since 2017 is the decrease in sulfur use, giving these wines a more unbridled fruity and expressive character in the early going, which is warmly received.

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"Joseph Colin—who left Domaine Marc Colin to start a domaine of his own in 2016—is going from strength to strength and is justly delighted with his 2019 portfolio." — William Kelley, Wine Advocate

While Pierre-Yves was the first to go out on his own from the Colin family, his younger brother, Joseph, proved with his 2017 inaugural release that he's also the real deal. So how does Joseph's style differ from that of his older brother? They generally have less of a reductive element, and the new oak is a bit more (still just 25% nearly across the board). The fruit profile has a touch more flesh and forward personality but shares the hallmark salinity and verve found in Pierre-Yves' wines. Stylistically, the brothers share much more in common than their father, Marc Colin, whose wines have a stronger imprint of new oak and softer, glossier texture. Starting in 1993, Joseph began working full-time at his family's domain at the age of 19. The brothers spent ten years working alongside their father until Pierre-Yves left to start his own domaine in 2003. Joseph has been at the helm of Domaine Marc Colin ever since and, in 2017, took six hectares of the family's holdings for himself.

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