Wine Advisor
Alain Hudelot Noellat, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
A wine of pure density and power, the 2012 Clos Vougeot hits the palate with deep, resonant layers of fruit. The 2012 is endowed with serious intensity, yet all the elements are beautifully balanced. This is an especially round, resonant Clos Vougeot with a bright future.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Moderately saturated medium red. Sexy, inviting aromas of red berries and underbrush. Sweet and fine-grained on the palate, showing an almost silky texture to the redcurrant, red cherry, licorice and earth flavors; like its 2013 sibling, this Clos Vougeot is unusually expressive at this early stage of its evolution. Finishes broad and lightly saline, with smooth tannins. Will this shut down in bottle?
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright, deep red. Lovely sweetness to the expressive, high-toned aromas of dark cherry, raspberry and spices. Pure and fruit-driven, already showing considerable personality and inner-mouth lift to its red fruit and spice flavors. Finishes with ripe, broad, fine-grained tannins and superb length. There's nothing medicinal or austere about this classy Clos de Vougeot.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2012 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru comes from 0.69-hectare of vine from 3 parcels, two close to the chateau and the other down towards the Route Nationale. It has a feminine, floral bouquet with touches of bergamot and raspberry preserve developing in the glass. These aromatics are very alluring even at this primordial stage. The palate appears vibrant with crisp tannins; underpinned by taut red berry fruit with fine mineralite flourishing towards the finish. This is very classy – another over-achieving 2012 wine from Burgundy’s most famous clos. 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
About the Producer
In 1962, Alain inherited two small parcels of his father's Chambolle-Musigny Grand Cru Les Chames, plus several vineyards from his marriage to the great-granddaughter of Charles Noellat, a Vosne-Romanee winery family, and he established Domaine Alain Hudelot Noellat. The winery is now about 10 hectares (24 hectares) in size. The estate now has about 10 hectares (24 acres) of vineyards with an average age of over 50 years, including several dating back to 1920, including the vineyard at Romanée-Saint-Vivant. The winery is known for its lighter wines with nuanced and natural flavors. Now managed by third-generation grandson Charles van Canneyts, Hudelot-Nollat is not so different from its grandfather's time, when it was less visible in the thicker wines, but now it has the advantage of refinement, often with fresh, bright fruit, balanced acidity and silky tannins. The vinification is entirely de-stemmed, using local yeasts that are not comparable to artificial yeasts, with a relatively long pre-fermentation cold soak, mainly with trampled skins, and 18 months in new barrels at 20-60%. In 2012, Charles also started to buy grapes from other winegrowers under his own name to make his wine. Vosne-Romanee is a blend of three first growths, Suchots, Beaumonts and Malconsorts, and as young as it is, the Hudelot-Noellat family owns three first growths that are over 100 years old, so this VR is ostensibly a village wine, but with a first growth heritage. Jasper Morris MW has high praise for Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat. He believes that while Alain Hudelot's management has produced fine style reds, Charles van Canneyt has taken over and given the wines more concentration and backbone, retaining their elegance, but with more ageing potential and balance.
