The 2006 Puligny-Montrachet La Quintessence smells of baked peach, vanilla, toasted almond, and brown spices. Peach and vanilla cream on the palate are laced and pleasingly contrasted with subtly bitter toasted nuts and grapefruit zest. The spice and vanilla of new wood nicely compliments the rich, sweetly-ripe style of this wine, and here too, there is only a faint trace of heat in the finish, but less succulence and cling than in the Chalumeaux bottling.
The Domaine Matrot officially consists of three estates of unequal size, each assigned its own appellations, vinified in separate cellars. But there is a common direction, and the labels differ only in their small print. Thierry Matrot did not begin picking until September 25, as late as any vigneron I encountered, and furthermore worked backwards by the standards of most Burgundy vintners: starting with Bourgogne, he finished (in early October) with his top crus. Matrot acknowledged the rapid evolution of the fruit, but arguing that -the acids concentrated along with the potential alcohol, so the wines are in equilibrium.- That claim must count as controversial - some of these wines betrayed bitterness or heat, and all are weighty and exotic - but on the whole, these outsized wines make a plausible case for their distinct identities. That said, one caveat: I would be inclined to enjoy all of these wines young, even the best of them within 3-4 years.
Importers: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802 and Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400
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