2000 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru

Thierry Matrot did a second pass through the vines in 2001 two weeks after the floraison to further reduce crop levels, and the domain ultimately made 20% less wine in 2001 than in 2000. The new vintage has similar acidity and balance but more gras roundness and depth, more fruit as well," Matrot explained. Browning skins, not rot, were likely in 2001, noted Matrot. The thunder did more damage than the showers; after the storms the grape skins turned quickly." Matrot did not chaptalize his whites in 2001, as grape sugars were ripe enough. I noted to Matrot that the wines of the domain have been less austere to my taste in recent years, and asked whether there has been an intentional change in style. I think we're picking the harvest dates more carefully now," he told me. And since '95 we've had plenty of grape sugars. We also do a slower, gentler pressing today. The result is certainly wines that are more accessible young, but still built to age." The 2001s had all finished their malolactic fermentations but had not yet been racked; Matrot was still stirring the lees of some of his cuvees

"The '99s are sensual, tactile wines with good volume," says Thierry Matrot. "Some of the premier crus reached 14%. The wines show great aromatic concentration, like the '95s, '89s and '85s, and will really gain from long aging. It was a huge crop, but the wines have the same aging potential as great past small vintages. Compared to '99, the 2000s are more aerienne more delicate, a vintage of medium-term aging. The challenge was to keep the fermentations slow. Still, the malos went very quickly; some were over in January."