2018 Chambolle-Musigny Village

It was the first winter day when I dropped in at Hudelot-Noëllat to meet with winemaker Charles Van Canneyt. Their cellars are naturally cooler than others so I had put on an extra layer of clothing. "We started the picking on the 5 September and it took five days, finishing on the 9 September," he told me. "It was a difficult vintage in terms of finding the date of picking as you had to choose between risking phenolic maturity or achieving that but risking high sugar levels [and alcohol]. I wanted to keep the acidity so I started early, when the alcohol was between 13.2% to 14.2%. Yes, it’s high, but not as much as others. We had no problem in terms of winemaking: all the sugar finished well and the malolactic was later in July. The Premier Crus see around 25% new oak and the Grand Crus around 50%. I will probably bottle Village Crus in February and the Premier Crus in March or April."