Matthieu BAAS

Head sommelier : 1 restaurant Matthieu Baas, the talented young sommelier at Matthieu de Lauzun in Pézenas, has been awarded the Sommelier Occitanie 2024 trophy.

Presentation

Matthieu Baas, like many of his generation working in the restaurant business, entered the profession late in life. After passing his general baccalaureate and spending a few weeks at Montpellier law school - "I had to work a lot, and I didn't have the level or the courage", he confides - he went on to work at Les 9 Écluses de Fonseranes, an essential tourist attraction on the Canal du Midi.

Discovering sommellerie

"I used to work in the boutique, advising tourists, most of them foreigners, on their wine purchases. I liked it, so I went back to school to get a BTS in sommellerie, working in the dining room at l'Ambassade in Béziers, then at Gilles Goujon's in Fontjoncouse. It was my first experience of the very highest gastronomy and its constant demands."

With his BTS in hand, Matthieu Baas temporarily left the restaurant business to join Caves Paul Riquet, in Béziers, as a wine merchant. "It was the Covid, an ideal opportunity to perfect my knowledge and keep in touch with customers. In the autumn of 2021, I left my position for that of sommelier at the restaurant Le Chameau Ivre, still in Béziers."

Meet Matthieu de Lauzun

At the beginning of summer 2023, the young thirty-something learned that Matthieu de Lauzun was looking for a new sommelier. The two men quickly hit it off, and Matthieu Baas is now fully at ease in his role. "I've taken over a very fine cellar, patiently built up by my predecessor, Morgan Carbillet. I now bring my own personal touch, with a particular focus on food and wine pairings. And, of course, I'm always on the lookout for new nuggets."

One of his latest favorites? Thomas Chany's "Les Trémières" cuvée: "a very well-made maceration wine, a blend of muscat à petits grains, terret gris and carignan blanc. An unfiltered wine without deviance."