2019 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru

My late Friday visit to Domaine Matrot, or Domaine Thierry & Pascale Matrot as it is labelled for some markets, was a last-minute addition, but like a lot of last-minute additions it turned out to be the perfect way to end my first week in Burgundy. I tasted the 2019s with Elsa Matrot, who was taking a bit of time away from her two-month old baby. I asked her about the history of the domaine. "My sister and myself are the sixth generation of winemakers," she told me. "I started to work at the domaine in 2008 and my sister Adèle in 2010. Then our father Thierry decided to retire in 2016. I suppose we have changed many things. Two years ago we tried a longer barrel ageing for the Meursault Perrières and Combettes and by doing this we found much more expression so that we could feel the typicity of the terroir and as we don’t use new oak, we gained power. So then from 2018, all our cuvées undergo a longer ageing, 15 months for the Meursault Villages, 18 months in barrel and one month in tank just before bottling for the Premier Crus. Also, the 2019 vintage is the first where we have used thermo-regulated vats. Before we were using carbonic ice. This has given us much more precision." Broaching the vintage in question, Matrot explained: “For the 2019 vintage we were supposed to start 12-14 September but in the end we began on 6 September as the forecast predicted a lot of wind and heat. We wanted to keep the natural acidity. The lowest alcohol in 2019 is 13.0° and the highest is 13.9°. Yields were quite low, 28-40hl/ha for the reds, 40-50hl/ha for the whites. Everything here is de-stemmed and the reds were racked from barrel into tank two weeks ago.” The use of new oak is very prudent, 10% used for most of Matrot’s Premier Crus. "We use new barrels on the Bourgogne Blanc that has 20% new wood. Then we decide which ones to use to mature the Premier Crus that see no new oak.” Though I had already tasted the Matrot wines blind at the annual Burgfest tasting, it was a revealing exercise going through the entire portfolio. Great wines are being made at this address, and although I think there remains some room for improvement, the Matrot sisters have already accomplished a great deal, especially given that they have only been directing the domaine for four years. The highlight for me was the killer Meursault Les Charmes, as good as you will find this vintage and outshining the Les Perrières. On the other hand, the latter often takes its time to bloom. If you are on a budget check out the wonderful Monthélie Rouge. Whilst there were two or three cuvées that needed to pull their socks up, overall, I was impressed by the wines. Expect me to follow their progress hereon.