2014 Domaine Matrot Bourgogne Chardonnay 750 ml

An importer’s call and a Matrot white Burgundy

Location, location, location. We’re not in the real estate business, but terroir does dictate so much of what we pursue. Our French friends love to expound upon the distinctions of soil and exposition, of altitude and climat, over long lunches and emptied bottles. The secret to making world-class Chardonnay, we’ve heard again and again, has everything to do with where the vines are planted.

Take White Burgundy, and the vines planted in the clay and limestone-rich soils of Meursault. High up on the hilltops, you’ll find high-tension Chardonnay, while further down the hill you get roundness without heaviness.

A few winding roads towards the border of Meursault, and you’ll find a lieu dit nurtured by the Matrot family, almost 10 acres of vines carefully tended by Thierry, Adele, and Eliza Matrot.

The pursuit of balance in the vineyard, with sugar content that equates to a finished Chardonnay with 13% alcohol or less, is something the Matrots pass down through the generations like some of us inherit heirlooms. Certified organic since 2000 and moving towards that since Thierry started working the land in 1976, this is a beloved family-run winery with Burgundy roots stretching back to 1789 and an eye on the future.

The Matrots carefully pluck grapes off 30-year-old vines, which undergo a 24-hour cold soak at the winery. Natural yeasts from the vineyards kickstart fermentation and Eliza and Adele oversee production.

The 2014 Domaine Matrot Bourgogne Chardonnay was aged in neutral French oak barrels, on its lees with minimal batonnage (stirring), imparting a mouth-filling creaminess to the wine. In the glass, pale, green-tinged yellow. Intensely perfumed citrus fruit aromas and flavors. Densely packed and creamy but with a juicy, weightless quality. This is a chiseled yet plush wine with real persistence. An excellent Bourgogne bottling.

But none of this would be on our minds and in your inboxes today if we hadn’t fielded a call from an importer whose handshake we know well. The Matrot name had us interested right away. When he agreed to cut the price in HALF, we pounced.

Excellent at full price — a STEAL at 41% off! $18.99 white Burgundy that is as good as any Meursault quadruple the price. Another 85 cases thanks to one retailer backing out, and for the importer’s call to us. Shipping included on 6. A MUST-case-buy for anyone whose love for white Burgundy rivals ours.