2012 Hudelot-Baillet - Chambolle Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru

More delicate than the village wine but also more marked by oak sweetness and a touch of vanilla on the nose. On the palate, the acidity is more evident, the tannins smooth but tight. Needs time but has deep fruit core. (JH)

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras comes from a 0.35-hectare parcel of vines close to the domaine, the vines relatively younger having been pulled up and replanted in 1988. It has a noticeably deep color. The nose is focused and feminine with more red fruit than the Les Charmes – redcurrant and crushes strawberry, hints of raspberry leaf. The palate has a candied element on the entry. There is so much energy here, full and voluminous in the mouth with a long, quite precocious finish that lingers like a long, sloppy kiss. What an outstanding Chambolle premier cru. 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).