Matthieu Barret is a seventh-generation vigneron who has made a rather impressive reputation for himself, almost bordering on legendary, as he finds himself part of a wave of winemakers raising the bar for Cornas wines in Northern Rhone, France.

With some 20 hectares of vineyards spread across the steep rolling hills of Cornas, Barret's vines are cultivated as naturally and biodynamically as possible in terraces facing the rising sun. The land here is made of decomposed granite known as gore, and finds itself exposed to ideal climatic conditions for growing Syrah, the single grape variety recognised under the Cornas appellation. The weather is windy, with the four seasons passing through the fields, with sufficient sunlight needed to produce fruit with well-structured tannins that offer great ageing potential and phenolic maturity. The Cornas commune has such fame through the ages that even the likes of Charlemagne was a fan. It was also amongst the first winemaking appellations recognised in France, and continues to be valued as amongst the five best terroirs in the Cotes du Rhone.

And if all seemed rather easy for Barret, that couldn't be further from the truth. Barret was born in Aix-en-Provence, and had studied viticulture in Beaune, before he decided to join his grandfather in Cornas in 1997. As mentioned, seven generations of Barret's family had operated solely as a vigneron, harvesting fruit and selling them via local co-ops to the likes of Chapoutier, the well-known Burgundian winemaker. It was ultimately Barret who had decided to produce and brand his own wines under his vineyards, Domaine du Coulet. Those vineyards, still in use today by Barret's family, were first planted by his grandfather after WWII, and once Barret had taken over them, he knew he had wanted to focus on delivering wines that captured with purity the Cornas terroir.

Not only does Barret focus on achieving very low yields of 20 hl/ha and encouraging the 50 year old vines to penetrate deep into the granite, which allows him to concentrate the fruit's flavour intensity, he also uses very little sulphur, along with engaging in natural and biodynamic practices, all of which heightens the Cornas character of his wines. By 2002, only the second year of his production, Barret's Domaine had already achieved biodynamic status. Yet, over the years not only has Barret continued to experiment so as to better understand his parcels of vines, but has continued to pursue ever more traditional methods, including completely removing the use of any machines, instead purely using mules, horses and of course, manual labour. He's also created ever increasing green spaces around the vineyards, even digging watering holes to nurture the natural ecosystem of meadows and woodlands.

With the fruit having captured all of local terroir (hand harvesting and full de-stemming), in the cellar Barret aims to get out of the wine's way by completely staying off the use of any oak, instead opting to use concrete/terracotta eggs for the vinification process. This allows the grapes to express with purity its phenolics and aromatic freshness, without any influence from oak. Natural wild yeast is used, with the process taking place little over two weeks, with the wines lightly pressed and aged for 8 months in the concrete eggs. Any movement of the wine is done with gravity, and the wine is extracted through small pumping or punching down. Interestingly no temperature control is used during the ageing to allow the wines to fully express their aromas.

Matthieu currently offers two ranges of wines, in similar fashion to many of Burgundy's producers, with the "Domaine" range using only fruit from the Domaine du Coulet vineyards, whilst the Matthieu Barret SARL range sports a conspicuously more playful aesthetic and is produced from fruit shared with other producers in the region.

Today, we're going to try Matthieu Barret's 2020 Brise Cailloux which comes from the Domaine du Coulet vineyards over the hillsides, and is aged for 18 months in terracotta jars and diamond concrete vats.

Let's go!

Matthieu Barret Cornas Brise Cailloux Rouge 2020 - Review

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Ruby

Aroma: It's raw and earthy, with notes of freshly toiled soil, along with that barnyard scent. At the same time it's also rich and expressive, neither bright nor poke-y, as well as being really cohesive aromatically. Some light tobacco follows as well. Not much in the way of fruit here, although that pure and fresh earthiness, which feels like stepping into the vineyards at daybreak, is just incredibly powerful and enjoyable.

Taste: The fruits emerge strongly here - dark cherries and raspberries, in particular. Really rich, cohesive, soft tannins, medium-bodied. It also comes with a sort of gamey quality that is reminiscent of saucisson or other air dried aged meats. Also a light chilli spice here. Expressive, bold, and incredibly flavour forward.

Finish: Some light cloves here, still carrying through with the gamey meats, reminding me of biltong with some peppercorns, complete with the oiliness of charcuterie meats.

My Thoughts

This was incredibly tasty! It packs so much in the way of this pure and fresh rustic quality, and while it's so expressive and bold, it's never overwhelming. And at the core of it is this incredibly focused and rich hit of darker red fruits. It's balanced and also complex with varying flavours from sweetness to rancio. I just absolutely loved how fresh, pure and powerful it was on both the nose and palate, always with such great richness, balance and complexity. 

This would go perfectly with a charcuterie board - absolutely staggering. This would not at all be what you'd call a boring wine - it has so much character! 

Kanpai!

@111hotpot