2006 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru

Contrarian Thierry Matrot picked early in '07 and late in '06, in direct contrast to many of his neighbors in Meursault. "On August 28 of 2007 we already had potential alcohol levels between 12.8% and 13.2%, he told me, adding that he brought in "most of the good stuff" during the first week of September. "The wines are not powerful or particularly structured but they are fresh, elegant and nicely delineated," he told me. "Analytically, they are between the '95s and '96s in style: a bit less acid than the '96s and a bit less sweet than the '95s." In fact, said Matrot, 2007 is the first "typical" Burgundy vintage for him since 2002. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, New York, NY) Also recommended: Meursault (85), Meursault Blagny (86).

After having been told by Jean-Marc Roulot, Dominique Lafon and Arnaud Ente that they started harvesting chardonnay prior to the ban de vendange in 2006 in order to bring in healthy grapes with bright acidity, you can imagine my surprise when Thierry Matrot informed me that he began a full week after the ban. On September 14, the seeds and the skins were not yet ripe, he told me, even if potential alcohol levels were already 13%. Ultimately, with another week of sun the grapes lost a good bit of their water and ripened more thoroughly, and the concentration of fruit, he maintained, enabled the grapes to retain acidity. Matrot describes the results as "voluptuous, silky, easy wines," but noted that most of the '06s were a bit reduced at the time of my tasting as the malos had only recently finished. "The wines have round, pretty fruit and are perfect as aperitifs," he went on. "Vintage 2005 is the great vin de garde." I found Matrot's 2006s quite exotic and atypically alcoholic for wines from this excellent domain.