2012 Chambolle-Musigny Village

According to Charles van Canneyt, the 2012s are "precise and transparent, a bit in the style of the 2010s but not with the same tannins."He noted that the estate started harvesting on the late side (September 24) but that almost no sorting was necessary.Potential alcohol levels ranged from 12% to as high as 13% and the crus were only very lightly chaptalized.Van Canneyt, who generally extracts gently, told me that he carried out a cold maceration lasting 12 days, then did up to three punchdowns per day, noting that it was especially important in 2012 not to extract too much.Beginning with the village cuvees, he used 20% whole clusters for all of his wines, which he says he can do as there is now less potassium in the soil.The stems, he said, give the wines "more aromatic complexity and structure and a natural freshness."The malos in 2012 were late, with some wines only finishing just before the 2013 harvest, and the wines had not yet been racked in mid-November.

I was deeply impressed with the wines I tasted at Hudelot Noellat this year. Charles Van Canneyt, Alain Hudelot’s grandson, has been at the helm for just a little while, but he increasingly seems to be coming into his own. Yields for the 2012s are down about 20%, which is to say pretty much in line with 2010 and 2011. Van Canneyt opted to vinifiy with about 20% whole clusters across the board, except for the Bourgogne, which was made from fully destemmed fruit. Malos were quite late and were not completed until September, yet the wines showed vey well, with the exception of the Vosne-Romanée Beaux Monts, which was too reduced to evaluate. All in all this is a terrific set of wines from a historic domaine that seems to be raising the quality of its game.