I’ve tried looking this up on the internet but couldn’t really find the answer to when Charles van Canneyt started taking over the reins at H-N. Does anyone know? Does his taking over coincide with the upswing in the quality of the H-N wines?
Thanks in advance!
I don’t know that there has been an upswing unless you are going back 15 vintages or so in which case, no, he wasn’t the winemaker.
Yeah, I figured the upswing started about that time. You can kind of infer it just by looking at what ends up at auctions… rarely do you see H-N wines before the late 90s.
Pierre Narwocki (or something like that) was the winemaker until about 2003 and then a couple of fill-ins (maybe claire forrester?) before Canneyt.
According to Burghound, 2004 was the last vintage made by Pierre Nawrocki who was succeeded by Vincent Munier (who I think is still the wine maker)
Canneyt is the grandson of Charles Noellat but when he took charge of the estate I do not know
Cheers Brodie
Oh right - forrester was at mortet briefly, not hudelot
Charles is the grandson of Alain Hudelot. He took over in 2008, and is assisted by Vincent Meunier, who took over from Narwocki around '05. It is Narwocki’s arrival around '98 that started the turn around at Hudelot Noellat.
I see someone is prepared to do some bidding this weekend!! 
I think the 96’s are fantastic right now for hn.
Market research indeed 
The 95 Malconsorts is a very fine bottle.
He started in 2007. 2008 was his first full official vintage.
Upswing in price (like many), yes…upswing in quality, not so sure… I remember tasting a 90’s RSV vertical and don’t think it has been bettered. I buy Suchots when I can and the 2006 are beautiful, not sure the new vintages are better. I have in my cellar and drink quite a bit of Hudelot Noellat but I don’t consider the wines to have improved…however, I like them quite a bit (although I would put Barthod, Fourrier, Grivot, Roumier…ahead). Previous wine maker was also very good…the rest is marketing.
My understanding is that he was helping in 2006/2007? with another winemaker. (Vincent Meunier I think. ) . I think 2008 was his first full vintage with no help. I tasted 2007 in barrel with him and Msr. Alain Hudelot let us know that Charles was the man at that point. (Also more importantly Madame Hudelot said he was the man.) I thought the wines rocked and he was such a shy self effacing man.
NB Corrected for bad spelling and memory.
The 1990 Clos Vougeot is a glorious wine; I have done verticals and certainly for that vineyard, it has been consistently great. Also, I have begun to taste my 1999s, as I purchased quite a few across the board. Even the NSG Murgers, which is probably his least exciting premier cru holding is excellent, and the Beaumonts is well worth trying to find. They are all still too young, but very promising.
To each their own, I guess - my experience with '96 and earlier (i.e. Pre-Narwocki) I have found them to be somewhat foursquare, even the RSV and Richebourg. I think the wines since '98 are more detailed and silky, and I think that has continued under Meunier and Van Canneyt. I think the village wines have been particularly excellent quality since '09 as well. YMMV.
Hi Folks,
I do not think you find a real “upswing in quality” here at the estate, but perhaps a more refiend style evolving over the switch in winemakers over the course of the years. When Monsieur Hudelot was making the wines prior to 1998, they were still very fine examples, but perhaps a bit more robust and “masculine” in style (if you will allow that old-fashioned moniker), but certainly my '93s and '96s are very good bottles and no lower in quality than today’s wines- just different stylistically. Pierre Navrocki’s arrival in the cellars in '98 seemed to put the domaine back on the international map a bit more- he used a bit more new wood than Monsieur Hudelot and also added a bit more refinement to the wines (perhaps) than previously was the case here, and he really did a fine job during his run from 1998 to 2003. He started the 2004s, but they were finished by Vincent Meunier, who held the position on an interim basis for a few years, while Charles was finishing up his studies and preparing to assume the winemaking responsibilities. Vincent is still happily with the domaine, in charge of viticulture and assisting ably in the cellars as well and he makes a very good team with Charles. Charles van Canneyt has done a wonderful job with the wines since taking over the cellars, cutting back the percentage of new wood decidedly for some cuvees (50% now for the Richebourg and RSV for example, down from 100%) and the wines seem to my palate to be even more transparent and elegant as a result.
The other big change to keep in mind here that also dovetails with the arrival of the domaine in the cosciousness of the international market was Monsieur and Madame Hudelot finally winning their lawsuit to receive Madame Hudelot’s share of vineyards from the family patrimony of great holdings. Her father had not been in favor of her marriage and had illegally kept her share of the vineyards back from her and her new husband for decades of legal wrangling. When they finally won back their vineyards, there was then the long process of paying the legal bills and tax issues, so it was a very long and drawn out process before the domaine could really settle back in and focus exclusively on the tending of their fine vineyards and making the wines, without serious outside distractions. This was the time that Pierre Navrocki arrived at the estate, so one probably should give equal weight to his fine job and the arrival of the parcels from Madame Hudelot’s family as putting the domaine on the forefront of great estates in Burgundy. Happily, justice was eventually served and now the domaine can look forward to an even finer future than its recent, exemplary past.
All the Best,
John
Thanks John.
FWIW, I had several bottles of 1991 RSV from Hudelot that were SO good. I enjoyed those older wines too.
Cheers.
1996 RSV was excellent and improved with 6-10 hours air. Quite complex. Great now with room to improve.
I also are keen on the 1996’s. I still have most left. The 1er were particularly good and the domaine did much better than most in 96. The only vintage that seems out of sorts are the 2005, due to vintage and I think a bit too much extraction. I hope they come right. Cheers Mike
Thanks everybody for the information. I’ve only had some of the more recent H-N wines, and loved the lithe elegant style (an 08 RSV was haunting) and wanted to get a gauge on how the older stuff was.