A family estate for five generations.
The story began with Joseph MATROT (1881-1963), the grandson of owners of a family wine estate in Puligny-Montrachet and Blagny who 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 and decided to develop and extend the estate. This today, is the seat of Domaine Matrot.
Their son, Pierre MATROT began working as a winegrower in 1937. Together with his wife Simone Bonin, they had five children. Pierre also bought vineyards and modernised the estate.
Pierre's son Thierry, born in 1955 went on to acquire a degree in winegrowing and oenology in Beaune and later continued with business studies in Mâcon Davayé. Thierry joined the estate in 1976 and took over the vinification from 1983 onwards. Together with his father, Thierry has continued to establish the reputation of Domaine Matrot and its wines and the estate has truly flourished.
SARL THIERRY ET PASCALE MATROT
In January 2000, Thierry and Pascale Matrot established and developed a limited liability company allowing them to buy and sell the harvest of the vineyards of “Héritiers du Domaine Joseph Matrot. Thierry is still as active as ever and ensures consistent high quality and attention to detail to all aspects of the winemaking process.
The story began with Joseph MATROT (1881-1963), the grandson of owners of a family wine estate in Puligny-Montrachet and Blagny who 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 and decided to develop and extend the estate. This today, is the seat of Domaine Matrot.
Their son, Pierre MATROT began working as a winegrower in 1937. Together with his wife Simone Bonin, they had five children. Pierre also bought vineyards and modernised the estate.
Pierre's son Thierry, born in 1955 went on to acquire a degree in winegrowing and oenology in Beaune and later continued with business studies in Mâcon Davayé. Thierry joined the estate in 1976 and took over the vinification from 1983 onwards. Together with his father, Thierry has continued to establish the reputation of Domaine Matrot and its wines and the estate has truly flourished.
SARL THIERRY ET PASCALE MATROT
In January 2000, Thierry and Pascale Matrot established and developed a limited liability company allowing them to buy and sell the harvest of the vineyards of “Héritiers du Domaine Joseph Matrot. Thierry is still as active as ever and ensures consistent high quality and attention to detail to all aspects of the winemaking process.
The Philosophy
A wine must be the reflection of its terroir and its vintage. And the first step in preserving all of the different characteristics of one’s wines is to carry out careful and attentive work in the vineyards.
During the sixties, the Domaines Matrot did not escape the “chemical years” in winegrowing. It was not until the arrival of Thierry on the estate in 1976 that chemical fertilisers were abandoned and replaced by organic products. Thierry, along with his father believed the organic treatment and dosage should be adjusted to the need of the vineyard (what they referred to as lutte raisonnée (reasoned approach to winegrowing). A natural progression of this philosophy was of Domaine Matrot moving to cultivating all of the vineyards of the Domaine organically in the year 2000.
Thierry has always given the greatest respect to the soils using organic manure, ploughing and rigorous pruning & de-budding in the spring to control the yields. The vineyards are green harvested before veraison (before the grapes change their colour) as necessary.
The family carefully monitors the yields, health of the vines and maturity for the date of the harvest. All of these cultivation techniques as well as the respect for the soils and for the vines confer purity of the fruit and the character of the terroir to their wines.
The controls are just as numerous during vinification and the same attention to detail is also evident in the entire pressing, fermentation, bottling and ageing process. Thierry prefers long and uneventful fermentations for eight to ten weeks.
Thierry never adjusts the alcohol content by more than half a degree in order to maintain the balance of the grapes. As he puts it,”It is important to know that a grape can be ripe at 12 degrees of potential alcohol one year and at 14 degrees the following year.” In a desire to accentuate the character of the vintage, the wines are matured for 11 to 12 months in 228 litre French barriques. The usage of one- to five-year-old barrels for the white wines and 10 to 20 % new barrels for the reds is considered appropriate.
The wines which leave the estate are truly exceptional. The Domain recommends that you wait three to seven years after bottling before drinking them. Decanting the whites will allow them to breathe, to develop their complex aromas and to express their finesse and the personality of their terroir.
A wine must be the reflection of its terroir and its vintage. And the first step in preserving all of the different characteristics of one’s wines is to carry out careful and attentive work in the vineyards.
During the sixties, the Domaines Matrot did not escape the “chemical years” in winegrowing. It was not until the arrival of Thierry on the estate in 1976 that chemical fertilisers were abandoned and replaced by organic products. Thierry, along with his father believed the organic treatment and dosage should be adjusted to the need of the vineyard (what they referred to as lutte raisonnée (reasoned approach to winegrowing). A natural progression of this philosophy was of Domaine Matrot moving to cultivating all of the vineyards of the Domaine organically in the year 2000.
Thierry has always given the greatest respect to the soils using organic manure, ploughing and rigorous pruning & de-budding in the spring to control the yields. The vineyards are green harvested before veraison (before the grapes change their colour) as necessary.
The family carefully monitors the yields, health of the vines and maturity for the date of the harvest. All of these cultivation techniques as well as the respect for the soils and for the vines confer purity of the fruit and the character of the terroir to their wines.
The controls are just as numerous during vinification and the same attention to detail is also evident in the entire pressing, fermentation, bottling and ageing process. Thierry prefers long and uneventful fermentations for eight to ten weeks.
Thierry never adjusts the alcohol content by more than half a degree in order to maintain the balance of the grapes. As he puts it,”It is important to know that a grape can be ripe at 12 degrees of potential alcohol one year and at 14 degrees the following year.” In a desire to accentuate the character of the vintage, the wines are matured for 11 to 12 months in 228 litre French barriques. The usage of one- to five-year-old barrels for the white wines and 10 to 20 % new barrels for the reds is considered appropriate.
The wines which leave the estate are truly exceptional. The Domain recommends that you wait three to seven years after bottling before drinking them. Decanting the whites will allow them to breathe, to develop their complex aromas and to express their finesse and the personality of their terroir.