Burgundy 2023 En Primeur: Domaine Hudelot-Baillet

We are delighted to mark the beginning of London Burgundy Week with our offer of the latest 2023 vintage from Hudelot-Baillet. The wines from this highly-rated domaine in Chambolle-Musigny are some of the most sought-after burgundies we offer each year at en primeur and these new releases receive excellent reviews from Vinous, so we recommend ordering without delay.

Neal Martin has just released his report on the 2023 vintage and comments:

"I am hard pushed to think of another vintage so pleasurable from barrel—pleasure that its best growers will translate into bottle." Neal Martin, Vinous, Jan '25

He describes '23 as a 'winegrowers' vintage', with the best producers being those who restricted the natural abundance of the harvest to keep yields low. Winemaker Dominique Le Guen is assisted in the vineyard by his son Tanguy, who told us how green harvesting was used to limit the yield, ensuring the wines have their usual impressive concentration. As an example, the yield for the 2023 Hâutes-Côtes de Nuits was just 45 hl/ha, when the maximum allowed for this classification is 50-69hl/ha.

Picking was done hard and fast here too, another quality factor mentioned by Neal Martin, given the high temperatures in early September. The domaine also has the advantage of vineyards adjacent or semi-adjacent to their winery, allowing them to get the grapes out of the heat and processed before the aroma compounds begin to oxidise. We could detect this when we tasted the wines, in their purity and freshness of on the nose.

One characteristic of the '23s that seemed to come more from the vintage than the winemaker was the suppleness and elegance of the tannins. Hudelot-Baillet's style is usually quite muscular and in some vintages the wines need ageing, but these were supremely approachable, despite the power of the tannins.

Although we visited in November to taste the '23s from barrel, the 2024 vintage was obviously uppermost in Dominique's mind, with the wines still fermenting. He told us that '24 was the most challenging vintage he has experienced, with a final yield of just 22 hl/ha! We may see drastic reductions in allocations this time next year, so our recommendation is to add as much from the '23 vintage to your cellar as you can manage.

Hudelot-Baillet's wines have a strong following amongst our customers and stocks are limited. For the premiers crus, we request balanced orders (1:1 with the village, 1:2 with the Bourgogne or Hautes Côtes). The Bonnes Mares is on allocation, suitably balanced orders requested, please enquire.

Offered En Primeur, wines due to land in the UK in autumn 2025.

14 Jan 2025

Producer Profile

Domaine Hudelot-Baillet

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.