COTE DE
BEAUNE-WHITE
Matrot-Wittersheim is a typical
example of how a seemingly new grower bursts onto the scene. Established
interior designer Claudine Roussel came to winemaking relatively late, choosing
to work the 3.5 hectares she inherited in 1999 from her Grandfather Thierry
Matrot. She did some night classes at college in Beaune and jumped in the deep
end. And why wouldn't you, if the vines are in Meursault and Volnay? ÒFinesse
and purity is what I'm afterÓ, she says with a smile on her face. All the wines
are left on the lees to develop complexity, with regular ÒbatonnageÓ, the
stirring of the lees that helps to add texture and weight to the wines.
Every time we
visit Paul Pernot in Puligny-Montrachet, we are struck by the sheer elegance and
stunning quality of his wines. Surely one of the top handful of growers in the
village - his Pulignys have exquisite delicacy and poise but with the structure
to age gracefully. On one of our visits he told us he felt his 2001s have excellent
ageing potential, with higher acidity than the 1999s and the 2002s.
His Bourgogne
Chardonnay is from vines planted in 1975 with a small track separating them
from Villages vines. He also adds one rocky parcel de-classified from the 1er
cru Champ Canet vineyard. The Puligny is an assemblage from several parcels
with vines between 40 and 45 years old. Always with a fabulous, ethereal
perfume, wonderful depth and poise and a hint of 1-2 year old oak (used firstly
by the Batard and the Bienvenues-Batard). The Folatieres vines were planted in
1956. He treats them to 30-40% new oak. The wine is concentrated and has a
massive finish. His Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet is quite a different balance,
less upfront in the nose than the Folatieres but seriously enticing. An
explosion in the mouth, a complex mix of nuts, a touch of honey and wild white
flowers. The Batard needs time. It is all it should be - tightly wound in the
nose when young, large-scaled in the mouth. If you can bear to wait 5-15 years
your patience will be repaid, but, if you can?t wait, pour into a decanter for
an hour before serving.
Tucked away just behind the main sweep of the Cote de Beaune and
the lofty villages of Chassagne and Puligny-Montrachet, Saint-Aubin often
offers excellent value Burgundy. Here we found Jean-Jacques Morel, a man with
an air of inner calm about him, as well as a love of Japanese sabres! With the
sense of calm broods a passionate soul - he followed a girl to the USA when he
was eighteen, has an Italian mother, married an African woman and came to wine
relatively recently and relatively late - he is now 51. He has parcels of Pinot
in St Aubin itself and Chardonnay in Puligny. He has a barrel of St Aubin Blanc
2006 which we eagerly await. He wants to make living wine - no chaptalisation,
no filtering, no fining. Like us, heÕs not a fan of new oak. What's in the
glass? His Puligny is ripe, with a nose hinting at tangerine peel and honey.
Broad and ripe in the mouth. His St Aubin and St Aubin ÒLe BanÓ reds are pure,
elegant and quietly vibrant.
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|
BOURGOGNE BLANC Paul Pernot |
2007 |
Soon |
|
|
ST AUBIN Jean-Jacques Morel |
2006 |
19.99 |
|
|
RULLY BLANC Les Cailloux, Alain Hasard |
2005 |
20.99 |
|
|
PERNAND BLANC, Denis Pere &
Fils |
2006 |
21.50 |
|
|
MERSAULT
Clos des Meix, Latour-Labille |
2004 |
22.99 |
|
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MEURSAULT Guy Dubuet |
2005 |
25.99 |
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PERNAND SOUS FRETILLE BLANC Denis Pere & Fils |
2006 |
25.99 |
|
|
MEURSAULT Matrot Wittersheim |
2004 |
26.99 |
|
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PULIGNY MONTRACHET Paul Pernot |
2006 |
27.50 |
|
|
MEURSAULT-BLAGNY, Matrot Wittersheim |
2000 |
35.99 |
|
|
MEURSAULT 1er cru Poruztos, Latour-Labille |
2002 |
36.99 |
|
|
MERSAULT 1er cru Goutte dÕOr,
Latour-Labille |
2003 |
39.99 |
|
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PULIGNY-MONTRACHET
1er cru Folatieres, Paul Pernot |
2004 |
42.99 |
|
|
PULIGNY-MONTRACHET
1er cru Clos de la Garenne, Paul Pernot |
2004 |
44.99 |
|
|
PULIGNY-MONTRACHET
1er cru Folatieres, Paul Pernot |
2006 |
45.99 |
|
|
PULIGNY-MONTRACHET 1er
cru Clos de la Garenne, Paul Pernot |
2006 |
45.99 |
|
|
PULIGNY-MONTRACHET
1er cru Pucelles, Paul Pernot |
2004 |
54.99 |
|
|
CORTON CHARLEMAGNE Grand cru, Denis Pere & Fils |
2006 |
54.99 |
|
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BIENVENUES-BATARD-MONTRACHET Grand cru, Paul Pernot |
1999 |
74.99 |
|
|
BIENVENUES-BATARD-MONTRACHET Grand cru, Paul Pernot |
2001 |
74.99 |
|
|
BATARD-MONTRACHET
Grand cru, Paul Pernot |
2001 |
89.99 |
|
|
CRIOTS-BATARD-MONTRACHET
Grand cru, Roger Belland |
2001 |
89.99 |
|
|
BATARD-MONTRACHET Grand cru, Paul Pernot |
2003 |
92.99 |