One of the most acclaimed 1er crus made in Vosne-Romanee is the Aux Malconsorts.
The quality of the Hudelot-Noëllat wines has improved rapidly over the last dacade, and with Charles van Canneyt in charge I do find the Malconsort worth looking for and an item of collection.
The Aux Malconsorts is one of the top end wines in the Hudelot-Noëllat portfolio, although the Richebourg, the Romanée Saint-Vivant and Clos de Vougeot are considered more prominent and as such better.
So lets take a closer look at the terrior behind the Hudelot-Noëllat Aux Malconsorts.
Wine and people
The Hudelot family have been in Chambolle since before the Revolution yet the current Hudelot-Noëllat estate is somewhat younger.
Hudelot-Noëllat was founded in 1962 by Alain Hudelot, and the estate today has 10 hectares spread over 4 villages and 15 appellations.
Alain Hudelot was in 1963 married to Odile Noëllat 4 – the granddaughter of Charles Noëllat. Although his wife had a quite large heritage within the Charles Noëllat estate, it was going to take years before the heritage was released. All this is history now, and in the end Hudelot-Noëllat got it’s share when the rest of the Charles Noëllat was sold to Mme Bize-Leroy in 1988.
The Hudelot-Noëllat estate is now managed by his grandson, Charles van Canneyt, who took over in 2008 and has taken the quality to new levels.
While the estate is a bit more than 50 years old – inheritance and acquiring vineyards has brought both prominent and old vineyards to the estate.
So the vineyards are a mixture of Charles Noëllat heritage and vineyards acquired over the years.
Early history of Vosne-Romanee Malconsorts
Some sources indicate that the Les Malconsorts vineyard was established relatively late – as it was transformed from scrubland to vineyard in 16107. According to the Burgundian etymologist Marie-Hélène Landrieu-Lussigny the name Mal-consorts refers to “a patch of ground covered with thorny brush that is difficult to clear”6. There is however also, according to Allen Meadows, evidence that a part of Malconsorts was established already in 1482 …
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