2012 Chambolle Musigny Les Charmes

From two parcels of 60+ year old vines totalling 0.63-hectares, the 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes has an entrancingly beautiful bouquet with blackberry, wild hedgerow, iris and cold stone that has wonderful definition. The palate has very good structure and mineralite: real tension here with a taut, linear finish that goes on and on. This is one of the best Chambolle premier crus this year. It was my first visit to Domaine Hudelot-Baillet in Chambolle-Musigny. I chanced upon the wine at “The Sampler” in London when the name was little known. I was instantly taken with the wines and had been meaning to visit the winery since that time. Joel Hudelot founded the domaine in 1981 after being handed down small parcels of vine by his father Paul Hudelot and his mother Chantal Baillet. Paul retired in 2004 and his son-in-law Dominique Leguen took over the running of the estate, having worked alongside Paul since 1998. Dominique comes across has a straightforward, self-effacing vigneron, uninterested in bells and whistles to create flash wine, but rather using simple tenets in order to exploit his holdings to the full. Here, the harvest began on 22 September and yields were reduced, though having said that, 28hl/ha is not as pitiful as other growers. Everything here is de-stemmed, sorted but not crushed, and sees a modest amount of new oak from several cooperages such as Rousseau, Francois Freres and CaVin. As I anticipated, I adored these 2012s. They are clean, pure, weightless yet intense, adroitly expressing their terroirs with style and honesty, whether that is his delicious Bourgogne Passetoutgrain (one of the best I have tasted) or a sublime Bonnes-Mares, his sole grand cru. Importer: Michael Skurnik, 575 Underhill Blvd., Suite 216, Syosset, NY 11791 tel; 516-677-9300 and through Howard Ripley and The Sampler (UK).