2012 Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat Chambolle-Musigny

Bright medium red. Red fruits, spices and herbs on the complex, slightly reduced nose. Nicely dense and juicy, with the red fruit flavors enlivened by spices, herbs and saline minerality. Finishes with a hint of licorice. Shows good intensity for this cuvee, which has been much improved in recent years.

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny is striking. Dried rose petals, crushed berries, mint and licorice all waft from the glass effortlessly. Supple, racy and medium in body, the 2012 impresses for its persistence and pure Chambolle charm. All the elements fall into place beautifully. The 2012 is a gorgeous wine that should offer a wide window of pure drinking pleasure starting pretty much upon release.

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny Village comes from 11 parcels and sees around 20% new oak. It has a perfumed bouquet with scents of crushed strawberry, redcurrant and forest floor that is very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with taut, tensile tannins. This is a little angular at the moment, but very fresh with superb tension on the finish. This is another one of those Chambolle village crus punching well above its weight. Dusk was falling as I pulled up outside Domaine Alain Hudelot-Noellat in Vougeot. It is always good to finish the day with a producer whose wines you admire and this was a fitting denouement to a long day in various cellars. I met Alain’s grandson, 25-year old Charles von Canneyt. After working in New Zealand, hence has superb English, his first vintage at the domaine was in 2008. He comes across as a relaxed, self-effacing winemaker at ease with the enviable cache of holdings, not predisposed to long orations about each wine, but willing to furnish you with everything you need to know. In a short space of time he has endured/experienced the whole gamut of vintages variations. “After 2012, I thought at least I had experienced the most difficult growing season,” he told me. “That was before 2013.” I replied that it was all part of a learning curve. It is just such seasons where you really hone your craft, and it stands you in a good stead for the future. He told me that after successful experimentations with whole cluster fermentation in 2011, he expanded this practice so that all the 2012s were vinified with 20% stem addition. The one anomaly is the Romanee-Saint-Vivant. Charles decided to literally “chuck in” a crate of stems, a little “seasoning” into the vat and he intends to continue the practice henceforth, perhaps in a more premeditated manner and subject to vintage variation. Importer: Atherton Imports, Menlo Park, CA; tel. (650) 328-6639