MATTHIEU BARRET PAST WINES
2022 PETIT OURS ROUGE
This wine is made from Syrah grown near Visan in Vaucluse. It is farmed by Matthieu’s friend Rémi Pouizin whose family has been working organically for sixty years. The vines average fifty years old and are rooted in limestone and clay. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in concrete and stainless steel for two weeks before being pressed off. After a nine-month élevage the wine is racked twice, lightly filtered if necessary, and bottled with 10-20 ppm of SO2 under Ardeaseal corks. 13% ABV
2022 PETIT OURS BLANC
This wine is made from Roussanne (60%) and Marsanne (40%). The former is planted on sandy clay-loam over a calcareous bedrock while the latter is on limestone and clay. Matthieu works with the Famille Rozel in Vallaurie, Florent Bacconnier in Allan, and Remi Pouizin in Visan, all of whom are practicing organic. The average age of vines is roughly twenty-five years between the three sites. Grapes are gently whole cluster pressed into tank where the juice undergoes an eighteen-hour settling before being racked. Matthieu typically adds a little SO2 (max 20 ppm) before primary fermentation. After an eleven- month élevage in stainless steel the wine is lightly filtered and bottled with up to 20 ppm of SO2. 752 cases were produced.
2022 PAS CALÉ
Matthieu trades a small amount of Syrah from Cornas for Pinot Noir from Pommard with his friend Phillipe Pacalet. The 35-year-old vines are deeply rooted in Jurassic clay-limestone. The grapes undergo carbonic maceration in flex tank for three weeks with occasional pump-overs of released juice. The pressed juice takes an additional two weeks to finish fermenting. The wine then spends eight months in 54L glass dame Jeanne and WineGlobe on full lees before bottling unfined, unfiltered, and with 20ppm of SO2. 108 cases were produced.
2019 CORNAS BRISE CAILLOUX ROUGE
This is the estates flagship wine. It is typically a blend of all their parcels (Mazards, Patronne, Arlettes, les Eygas, Coulet, and Jouvet) planted between 1920 and 2014 with ancient selection massale. Soils on these impossibly steep slopes are primarily granite. Matthieu typically destems this cuvée into concrete eggs of varying shapes and sizes for fermentation. He likes to keep the temperatures quite cool to preserve aromatic intensity during the three weeks on skins. Élevage takes place in amphora and concrete for eighteen months before it is lightly filtered for bottling with 20 ppm of SO2.