Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesBarrel Sample: 93-95
Joseph Matrot (1881-1963), the grandson of owners of a family wine estate in Puligny-Montrachet and Blagny, lived with his wife, Marguerite Amoignon, and their three children at Château d’Evelle. Marguerite also owned a beautiful wine estate in Meursault. In 1914, they took up residence in Marguerite’s family home, which is today the seat of Domaine Matrot, and decided to develop and extend the estate. Over the course of generations, Domaine Matrot continued to expand with the addition of new vineyard holdings, and in 2000 began harvesting the vineyards organically. Today, sisters Adèle and Elsa Matrot are in charge of the management and winemaking of the Domaine, ensuring that the family-run domaine will be in good hands for many years to come. Observing careful cultivation and vinification techniques, Domaine Matrot wines offer purity of fruit and terroir-driven character.
A source of some of the finest, juicy, silky and elegantly floral Chardonnay in the Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet lies just to the north of Chassagne-Montrachet, a village with which it shares two of its Grands Crus vineyards: Le Montrachet itself and Bâtard-Montrachet. Its other two, which it owns in their entirety, are Chevalier-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. And still, some of the finest white Burgundy wines come from the prized Premiers Crus vineyards of Puligny-Montrachet. To name a few, Les Pucelles, Le Clavoillon, Les Perrières, Les Referts and Les Combettes, as well as the rest, lie northeast and up slope from the Grands Crus.
Farther to the southeast are village level whites and the hamlet of Blagny where Pinot Noir grows best and has achieved Premier Cru status.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.