Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat - Burgundy 2019 En Primeur Producer Profile

Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat - Burgundy 2019 En Primeur Producer Profile

There is no hiding the fact that Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat is among the very best in Burgundy. Well-maintained old vines in several key appellations provide the raw material for excellence. The Domaine’s focus on tradition and letting its top-notch terroir ‘speak for itself’ ensure the wines are always among the most exciting in every new Burgundy vintage.

Founded in 1962 by Alain Noëllat, Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat centres itself in the villages in the commune of Vosne Romanée in the Cote de Nuits. Since taking over in 2008 at the age of 20, Alain Noëllat’s ambitious grandson Charles Van Canneyt has run the Domaine and kept true to his late grandfather’s traditional winemaking style. Indigenous yeasts are used for fermentation, meaning each wine is a pure, natural expression of the terroir.

That said, the quality of the wines and the Domaine’s global brand has leapt forward under the new stewardship and pulls in strong demand from North America and Asia. The production of wine from vineyards such as Richebourg and Romanee-St-Vivant mean that Hudelot-Noëllat shares borders with Burgundy heavyweights Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and Domaine Leroy, producing similar scores from numerous leading publications yet trading at a fraction of the price.

Wines

Hudelot-Noëllat’s Romanee-St-Vivant, Les Beaumonts, Les Suchots and Malconsorts vines were all planted in 1920 so just passed the century mark. The Richebourg vines are more than 70 years old and produce some of the most highly regarded wines.

With the estate just covering roughly 10 hectares, the total production across all grand crus is ~600 cases per annum: ~115 cases of Richebourg; ~200 cases of Romanee-St-Vivant; and ~300 cases of Clos de Vougeot. Premier cru production is also limited and includes appellations Les Suchots, Les Malconsorts, Les Beaumonts, Les Charmes, Les Murges and Les Petits Vougeot. Annual production of Vosne Romanée Malconsorts is just 300 magnums while Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Murgers is roughly 330 cases.

Cult Wines’ opinion

Charles explained to Cult Wines’ Head of Fine Wine Lukasz Kolodziejczyk that the 2019 vintage produced grapes with a high phenolic maturity, meaning riper tannins in the skins, seeds and stems with less bitterness. This is balanced by a surprising degree of freshness despite the warm growing conditions.

In the winery, Charles kept extraction low, utilising pumping over during fermentation, which gave the wines a bright ruby colour and great fragrance. Lukasz noted that all the 2019 wines impressed but named Richebourg as his favourite. Below are Lukasz’s full tasting notes and scores.

Below is a list of Hudelot Noëllat’s wines as well as an analysis of the average prices and average total return of a select group since release.

5-year average prices and returns

Hudelot Noëllat’s wines