2012 Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat Bourgogne Rouge

Sweet red cherries, hard candy, flowers and spices inform the 2012 Bourgogne. Silky tannins and gorgeous inner perfume are going to make the 2012 impossible to resist over the next few years. This is a lovely Bourgogne.

The 2012 Bourgogne Rouge comes from four parcels, two located in Chambolle with one parcel over 60-years old, the others between 30 and 40 years. It has a crisp delicate bouquet with scents of raspberry leaf and blackberry, hints of bergamot developing with aeration. The palate is clean and fresh with pert raspberry and redcurrant fruit on the entry, well judged acidity and a brisk, linear finish as fresh as a daisy. Lovely! 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).

The 2012 Bourgogne Rouge comes from a scattering of 18 parcels all around Chambolle-Musigny. It has a clean, fresh, quite floral bouquet with lovely red berry fruit. The palate is clean and fresh with pointed acidity and a crisp and slightly tart, raspberry finish. Fine. Dec 2013, www.robertparker.com