Bert
07/27/2025 (Sun) 18:37
[Preview]
No.32431
del
We've had 76 hours of racing over 3,302 km to bring us to our final /WORLD TOUR WINE/ of the Tour !! What a day of racing we've had!
For the final stage of each GT, I am selecting a bottle not limited by the route of the race. These bottles are exemplars of their country's winemaking history and tradition. For the Giro, we had a wonderful bottle of aged Barolo made in the traditional style. For the Tour, attention payers should be able to guess what I would choose.
Two millennia ago, the Romans conquered Gaul, bringing wine to the wild landscape populated by heathen barbarians. They planted vines wherever they conquered, including the hillsides and valleys along a remote escarpment of limestone and clay just west of the Saone -- Burgundy. After the fall of Rome and the rise of the Catholic Church, Charlemagne gave this land to the monks who kept their monasteries in this isolated place. For centuries, the monks worked this land. They studied the place -- the soil, the weather, the rain, the wind. They studied the grapes, choosing two varieties that seemed to flourish in this stony soil -- Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. They studied vinification, making winemaking a science as well as an art. When the French revolted in the 18th century, these lands were taken from the Church and given to the people. Today, Burgundy is insanely complex patchwork of vineyards and producers, each with a specific style and flavor.
The heart of Burgundy is that limestone escarpment running just south from Dijon, the Cote d'Or. Little villages dot the lower slopes, with legendary names: Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanee, Puligny-Montrachet. These places grow the finest expressions of vitis vinifera on Earth, wines of complexity, power, finesse, and beauty. Today's bottle is from my favorite producer and favorite village.
Domaine Alain Hudelot-Noellat Chambolle-Musigny 2022
Hudelot-Noellat has been run by Alain's grandson, Charles van Canneyt, since 2008. I love these wines -- transparent, fresh, fruity. There is not too much oak, not too stemmy. They have such a beautiful expression of their terroir. They drink delightfully in their youth and in their age. The prices are reasonable for the Cote d'Or. Chambolle-Musigny is one of the most elegant, floral, precise appellations within Burgundy-- contrast with a muscular Gevrey-Chambertin or a rustic Savigny-les-Beaune.
This pours a youthful ruby with red highlights and purple core. The wine opened beautifully over several hours. The nose is a heaven of elegance -- violets, raspberry, wild strawberry. The palate is why I love Burgundy. It is so well constructed. Bright fruit with acid, silk yet structured tannins. Light orange/iron minerality. This drinking lovely now but has the build for another few decades in bottle.
Ah, I've been looking forward to this one and glad it didn't disappoint. One of the finest of the year. Vive le Tour, vive /wtw/