Rambling Post: Avoiding PremOx & TN for 1999 Matrot- Puligny Montrachet, Les Combettes

The owner of my local shop found some old white Burgs in the store’s cellar. He opened a few, apparently a bunch were totally oxidized, so he decided to sell them at a big discount. I got two bottles- one of which was this, for $25.

I didn’t know much about this producer, so once I got home, I searched on WBers for info. At first, I was excited to see Matrot cited as an example of a classic old school White Burgundy producer. Then, I was less excited to see that their wines are often associated with [premox](pox; TN: 2016 Domaine Matrot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeaux). I’ve had a fair share or crappy White Burgs that were dead on arrival, so expectations were low.

But I managed to somehow dodge to premox bullet on this one, because this is an absolutely phenomenal wine. That a 25yr old village-level wine is so delicious, rich, complex, just so enjoyable, over the course of several hours, is stunning. My TN:

Cork is in great shape. Color is a little golden, but overall far lighter than I would expect for a wine of this age. The aromas tell me this is a winner from the moment the cork is pulled. On the nose, first impression is, unexpectedly: cantaloupe. Followed by ripe yellow peach, candied lemon, baked grapefruit with caramelized brown sugar, burnt meringue, shortbread.

In the mouth, this is full bodied, med alcohol, med acid, with a lovely creamy texture. Like the nose, the immediate flavor is that of cantaloupe, which is unusual, but it really works here. Other flavors of sweet lemon desserts, pear, a touch of nuttiness, orange zest, baking pie crust. There is a touch of nuttiness, but it is in the background. The finish is super long and complex.

It’s a bit sad actually, experiencing how amazing these wines can be, knowing that so many are lost to premox. I realize these aged old-school White Burgs are becoming rarer and rarer. I feel lucky to have experienced this wine, at such a reasonable cost of entry. Might be the only time…We’ll see how the other bottle I bought turns out.

On a tangentially related note, I recently moved to a neighborhood that is supposedly overrun with kids for Halloween. This is a first for me. I’ve lived in apartments my entire adult life until a few months ago. I’m not sure why, but my utopic suburban vision of Halloween involves sitting on the front lawn, with a fire going, giving out candy to kids. Why is there a fire? No idea. No one did that when I was a kid, but it somehow feels right. I’m convinced that having a fire going is a necessary component to a proper Halloween.

So, like any red-blooded American, I went to an online retailer (that starts with A), and ordered a smokeless firepit that was delivered this afternoon. Halloween being tomorrow, I didn’t want the first time lighting it up to be on my front lawn in full view of all my neighbors, lest it should fail somehow. Instead, I decided to do a practice run in the backyard tonight. The firepit worked beautifully; sitting by the roaring fire, enjoying this amazing wine, under the stars, on this unseasonably warm New England fall night, was a lovely experience.

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Great post. Enjoy your suburban Halloween.

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You struck gold here. When sound, those Matrot wines are extraordinary. The reason we drink white burgundy.

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Agreed- extraordinary is the word for it. And nearly unique as well. I’ve only had a similar wine experience once before. A few years ago, I had a 1990 Latour Corton Charlemagne that was mind blowing. Similar flavors of ripe fruits but also caramel, a little nutiness. Unfortunately, I’ve had way more duds when it comes to older White Burg- so much so that I really only buy it if it’s at a ridiculously low price like this. It’s too bad this style is getting largely replaced by super lean reductive wines designed to stave off oxidation. I like those wines, but I like this style too, I think more actually. If I want a high acid screecher, I’d rather go to Chablis.

Yeah premox rate is extremely high but 99 might be have been early for them. Btw, it’s 1er not village.

My last purchases of Matrot was a few bottles of 2005 Meursault Perrieres. Which was spectacular on release, and toast a year later. Never again.

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I have a 2012 Les Perrieres that I am trying tomorrow. Hopefully I get the same results as you :slight_smile:

That era of matrot has at least 50% chance of premox in my experience.

What years were their era of premox would you say?

I got it at auction and I think they just threw that bottle in as a bonus because it wouldn’t sell alone due to premox history. My winning bid was below the market price of the Chassagne Montrachet I wanted to buy. Coin flip will be tonight!

Generally the conventional wisdom is 97-present for Matrot, but I think the rate of premox was much higher starting in the 2000s than late 90s.

Till the present?! Yikes.

If you ask them, it’s part of their charm. I avoid.

I just went back to the shop to see if they had any more. They dug out a 1996 from the back for me- covered in dust and complete with a dead spider in the punt. I’ll report back here how this one fares.

The wines went south quickly even in the early nineties, well before premox was general.

Turned out fine and wasn’t premoxed. Took 2+ hours to open up. Got lucky I guess!

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You got lucky! I ditched some '99 Matrots that had already started premoxing by like 2004.

Or actually avoided it?

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so sad when great holdings and good winemaking could be protected by a Diam closure. I’ve avoided Matrot, the poster child for premox.

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