January is Burgundy En Primeur season and over the coming week we will be offering some 2017 wines from four small domaines, which we unearthed on our travels in the Côte d'Or late last year.
With prices from the most sought after domaines at record levels, these are wines for people who actually love to drink and enjoy Côte d'Or burgundy, from growers just below the collectors' radar.
2017 has been well-received, a 'good' year, somewhere ahead of 2014, while not quite reaching the level of the excellent 2015s and 16s. What is notable is how extremely drinkable the wines are now - including the reds.
Our first domaine is a rising star of Chambolle-Musigny, located in the heart of Chambolle on Rue de l’Eglise, a few doors along from the 'mairie'. After a career in the French airforce, Dominique LeGruen took over the winemaking at Domaine Hudelot-Baillet from his father-in-law in 2004. The wines have gained steadily in stature.
By day, Dominique's wife works as a police detective (homicide) in Dijon, a powerful reminder that, along with all the romance associated with Chambolle, these are very real people, making very real efforts to produce great wines. A newly excavated cellar beneath the existing domaine demonstrates how the results of the harvest are ploughed (quite literally) back into the domaine in the pursuit of quality.
Dominique himself comes across as earnest and practical, determined and focused on detail. He uses destemming and cool maceration for his 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.
New finds from the top villages of the Côte de Nuits are rare and we're pleased to offer these wines for the first time. Consensus in the trade seems to be that 2017 is a 'Chambolle year', and for us this is certainly the case.
Later in the week we will focus on some domaines from the Côte de Beaune, but in the meantime you can view both these and our offers from some of the top negociants on our en primeur page here.
Offered En Primeur, wines due to land in the UK in November 2019.
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