WTN: 2002 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Vosne Romanee

Not as successful as Paulo's 2000 Grivot Vosne-Romanee.

I opened this to see if I wanted additional bottles while on sale. 13% abv
Dark red color, almost opaque. Nice cherry nose but the wine was too astringent on the palate. The edges may have softened a bit by the second evening with honey roasted chicken and au gratin potatoes. Still, not enough depth to merit additional purchases. An okay wine IMO, not scintillating. Paid about $40--on sale for about $32.

Alain Hudelot-Noellat made some excellent Burgundies in 1995, 1996, and 1998. The 1996 Richebourg was absolutely stunning when I tasted it from cask (haven't opened the bottles I bought yet). I've been enjoying the Vosne-Romanee from that era recently. Sorry to hear that the 2002 was mildly disappointing. Was it the year, do you think?

-Paul W.

I don't think it was the year because I have had some 2002 Morey-St-Denis that I really enjoyed. My thought was that perhaps the grapes were harvested too early. It did have a nice nose though.

I wonder if this is just closed. I haven't had this wine, but I had the Beaux Monts 1er on release and really liked. Haven't opened one since.

[Jenise]

JC--three year old with more nose than flavor? Sounds closed. If you'd had some for the 3rd day, you might have seen a big change. I use the three day rule for young, closed wines with good acidity and some aging potential.

Jenise and Dale may be right. Maybe it was closed.

JC,

FWIW I drank a bottle of the same wine in January and thought it was a very good village Vosne, and that it was starting to close down then. I also have the 02 H-N Chambolle Musigny and it is even tighter and more structured and acidic than the Vosne, and needs much more time. I think these are great values and will be good with 3-5 years of cellar time.

Here is my note from 01/06:

2002 Hudelot Noellat Vosne Romanee This was really good. Black and red fruits with a hint of some Vosne spice, excellent balance. Maybe starting to close up a bit.

Best,
Marc

Thanks for the additional info. Maybe I should have taken advantage of the sale price after all (it was only a one-day sale). However, I may be moving this summer or early fall (within this area) so I shouldn't be buying too many wines until after I move. Not sure how I 'm going to handle the moving of the bottles I already have except that I may order a wine storage unit and have it in place before I move so that wines can go right from moving vechicle into chilled storage.

This is only closed - it is a beauty of a wine. Just keep it and you will have a stunning piece of Pinot Noir Symphony in a decade.