21 Jan 2022

This is our fourth year of offering Domaine Hudelot-Baillet's wines en primeur and for us, this is the best vintage yet, with the wines showing a gorgeous concentration of ripe, dark fruit, balanced by beautifully fine tannins seductive textures on the palate.   Dominique Le Guen is a rising star of Chambolle-Musigny and his style of winemaking is muscular and concentrated, but the elegance of the tannins and complex layering of aromas gives this vintage a particular finesse that we think our customers will love.

The hot weather in 2020 produced average yields of just 33 hl/ha.  Despite the challenges, Dominique said that the fruit was in such perfect condition that 'there was nothing to do but stand and supervise'.  The tone of our cask tasting was set by the Bourgogne Pinot Noir, which had a fresh acidity that gave wonderful energy to the intense black and red fruit.  Dominque pointed out that the harvest for the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits fruit was ten days later than the other wines, due to the cooler situation, which produced a violet character on the nose, adding some layers to what is often a rustic, powerful red. 

The Chambolle Vieilles Vignes was also perfumed, with rose petal aromas and the supplest of tannins.  Of the premiers crus, Les Charmes is often the easier wine to taste, but this year Les Charmes and Les Cras were equally beguiling; Les Charmes for its succulence and elegance, Les Cras for its mineral style, with a finer balance than in previous years.  The same was true of Les Borniques (which we think is nudging at grand cru status) with its massive structure refined by polished, supple tannins.  

Sadly, quantities are extremely limited, so do please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to add any of these to your cellar.

Offered En Primeur, wines due to land in the UK in autumn 2022.

Producer Profile

Domaine Hudelot-Baillet, Chambolle-Musigny

This small 8-hectare domaine is based in the centre of Chambolle-Musigny and has excellent holdings in the premiers crus of 'Les Charmes' and 'Les Borniques', as well as a tiny parcel in the Bonnes Mares Grand Cru.  Hâutes Côtes de Nuits is also a strength, with the vines lying on the hills above Chambolle itself.  This reputation of the domaine is largely due to the efforts of Dominique Le Guen, who began working here in 1998, after a career in the French airforce, when his father-in-law was reaching retirement.  At that stage, Dominique, a Breton by birth, had no winemaking experience.  His first solus vintage was in 2002.  The domaine was almost moribund when he took it on, but his meticulous, hardworking approach has made it "one to watch".

Dominique's winemaking approach includes destemming and cool maceration for the red wines, with punching down, remontage and delestage, to extract the supple tannins from the skins rather than the pips.  The wines are aged in between a third and a half new oak.