Visit to Domaine Michel Noëllat – Tasting the 2020s

There are still new – and even old – estates to be discovered in Burgundy’s storied villages, domaines that have eluded me or haven’t forced their way into my usually pressed time schedule.

I have, however, heard from different sources that in recent years things have gotten much better at the Noëllat estate – the Michel Noëllat estate.

So I paid the estate a visit as a start of my autumn tasting campaign, and I sampled the 2020 vintage with the domaine’s two current owners/managers – Sophie and Sébastien Noëllat.

What can I say? The relatively new people at the Noëllat domaine seem to have made some significant improvements. And with Sophie Noëllat in the foreground, it seems it can’t go wrong; she is open and likeable, and a treat to work with as a professional taster. I of course know Sophie from the Arnaud et Sophie project she has with her husband Arnaud Sirugue.

The estate…the big estate

I did not taste all the wines, but I did sample the jewels in the crown; enough to form an initial opinion. But first a bit about the Noëllat family.

The Noëllats in Vosne

The family diagram below is complex as well as comprehensive. Let’s just use it as an illustrative tool in this article, and walk through the details another time.

Michel Noëllat is a big estate – 20ha in total – with some very prominent plots. One parcel in Echezeaux de Dessus is in the very core of this vineyard, and its Clos de Vougeot is another prominent vineyard, with two different plots in the big clos.

Then there are two plots of Vosne Les Suchots (1.7 ha in total), making Michel Noëllat a major owner of this vineyard. Currently, the domaine also has 1.7 ha of Vosne Romanée Beaux Monts, but these equally prominent plots will transfer to Cecile Tremblay this year.

Add to this other plots in Vosne, Chambolle, Fixin and Savigny-les-Beaune, and one begins to understand.

Style and feel

The wines are well made; the extraction is relatively moderate, and one can feel the Vosne intensity style-wise. The cold pre-soak (three to five days) lifts the bouquet into the interesting. The wines are not flamboyant and flashy, but the strong terroirs shine through the extraction, while the less-dominant terroirs are held back somewhat. This is exacerbated by the addition of 30 mg/l of SO2 are added.

So: These are good wines, with the best among them giving a hedonistic thrill.

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Michel Noëllat Savigny-les-Beaune 2020

This is showing very well coming from large barrels, with good liveliness and intensity. It has good energy, and the extraction is suitable. One could dream of a more moderate use of SO2 to reveal more in this wine.

(Drink from 2028) – Good – (87p) – Tasted 19/10/2021

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Michel Noëllat Fixin 2020

One of the weaker wines; not that intense on the mid-palate as evaluated currently. Well made, but doesn’t really ring the hedonistic bell.

(Drink from 2026) – Good – (86p) – Tasted 19/10/2021

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Michel Noëllat Savigny-les-Beaune Les Peuillets 2020

This showed a bit more oak, which was dominant in the sample presented. The François Freres wood gives the wine an old-school Vosne feel, and some will like this.

(Drink from 2030) – Very Good – (87-88p) – Tasted 19/10/2021

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Michel Noëllat Chambolle-Musigny 2020

Classic and fine Chambolle, with lovely acidity and mineral notes. Here the oak is up from 10% to 30% new (three coopers used: François, Cavin and Taransaud). Still, there’s nice balance in the oak, and with old vines like these (70-80 years), there’s good tension and liveliness in the wine.

(Drink from 2030) – Very Good – (88-89p) – Tasted 19/10/2021

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Michel Noëllat Nuits-Saint-Georges 2020

The Nuits-Saint-Georges is a classic, with a slight hint of iron and good, harmonious fruit Part of the cuvee somes from Aux Alllots, and this shows in the airiness and openness. NSG in a charming way, but nevertheless a Nuits-Saint-Georges.

(Drink from 2030) – Very Good – (88-89p) – Tasted 19/10/2021

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