Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat Vosne-Romanée 2019

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Surface Area: 0.78 ha

Exposure: East/10% slope

Subsoil: Calcareous Limestone

Production: 5000 bottles

Description: Hudelot Noellat Vosne Romanée is a fresh and fruity wine with a nice complexity and tannic structure.

Vinification:
– Manual harvesting and sorting
– 80% Destemming
– Punching down during grape fermentation
– Fermentation only with indigenous yeasts
– Wines are not clarified or filtered
– Wines are kept for 16 months in oak barrels
– 20% new barrels

About Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat

Founded in 1962 by Alain Hudelot, the domain covers 10 hectares spread over 4 villages and 15 designations. Today it is run by his grandson, Charles van Canneyt. Since 2005 Alain had been helped by Vincent Meunier, who continues to work with Charles.

The Romanée St Vivant wines were planted in 1920, and most other crus including Richebourg were planted between 1920-1950.

The Premiere Crus, Vosne Romanée Les Beaumonts, Les Suchots and Malconsorts all consist of almost 100 year old vines and produce the finest examples of these fine terroirs.

In the Vineyard

No work is spared in the vineyards. The philosophy of having healthy vines to lead to healthy grapes in order to make better wines is carefully followed.

In the Winery

During vintage, careful sorting is done in the vineyards followed by detailed further sorting in the winery before the juice is carefully brought into the concrete enameled fermentation tanks. Charles’s philosophy is to keep up to 20% of the stems with the juice, especially in vintages and appellations where the fruit can support the extra tannins. The wines are aged in casks particularly from Allier, with some from the Vosges and local Citeaux.

The 2019 Vintage at Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat

Charles Van Canneyt described 2019 as “one that produced the smallest crop since I arrived at the domaine. The flowering did not pass well due to the near freezing temperatures in April and as such there was a delayed secondary effort of a high incidence of shatter. The summer was then hot and all but bone dry which had the desirable effect of dampening disease pressure and thickening skins, but it also dehydrated the fruit, which further contributed to lower yields. I began picking with the Meursault on the 9th of September but waited until the 16th to begin picking the reds. While the fruit was very clean and solidly ripe with potential alcohols were in the 13.5 to 14.5% range, yields were only 25 to 30 hl/ha. Because of the thick skins, I chose to vinify very softly, in fact I did no punch downs at all with the completely destemmed fruit. Interestingly enough, even though the acidities were not particularly high, the malos were very slow to finish. As to the wines, what I like best about them is how well they reflect the underlying terroirs. Moreover, they’re balanced and energetic and should age effortlessly.” I agree with Van Canneyt that his 2019s are really lovely and in my view, they are some of the best wines that he has made. 

Burghound

I deferred my tasting with Charles Van Canneyt until as late as possible, as he told me that several protracted malolactic fermentations had only just concluded by the end of harvest 2020. The wines were worth the wait, however, as this is a terrific success for Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat. Rich, dramatic and concentrated, with vibrant fruit tones and ripe tannins, everything reviewed here comes recommended. Yields were low, and alcohol levels range between 13.5% and 14.5%, but the wines are more dynamic than their 2018 counterparts.

William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

Where in the World is Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat?

Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat is based in Chambolle-Musigny with an impressive array of vineyards through Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny, Nuits-Saint-Georges & Meurault.