Château de Villars Fontaine, Burgundy, Hautes Côtes de Nuits, Les Genevières 2002, MAGNUM 1500ml

Château de Villars Fontaine – Burgundy Hautes-Côtes de Nuits “Les Genevrières” 2002 MAGNUM 1500 ml: A mature Premier Cru from the hinterland of the Côte de Nuits

The magnum bottle – 1,500 millilitres instead of the usual 750 – is far more than just a measure of size in Burgundy. It is regarded as perhaps the most ideal embodiment of a great Burgundy: the greater volume of liquid in relation to the surface area of the glass slows down the ageing process, preserves the fruit and lends the wine a texture and depth that is almost never achievable from a standard bottle. The 2002 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits ‘Les Genevrières’ from Château de Villars Fontaine, in this large-format bottling, brings together several rare factors: a single vineyard in the hinterland of the Côte de Nuits, a charismatic winemaker and pioneer of terroir, a vintage of remarkable structure – and all this in a format that is virtually tailor-made for decades of ageing.

The estate: Château de Villars Fontaine – a pioneer of the Hautes-Côtes terroir

Château de Villars Fontaine was founded in the early 1970s by Bernard Hudelot – a scientist and professor of oenology who went down in the region’s wine-growing history as the ‘Pope of the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits’. Hudelot, born in Villars-Fontaine in 1942, was not the heir to a long-established winery, but rather a newcomer to the industry: his father, Ferdinand Hudelot, like other farmers in the region, was involved in various agricultural activities. Bernard Hudelot, however, recognised the hidden potential of the barren hills above the Côte de Nuits and, from the 1960s onwards, began to replant the vineyards that had lain fallow for centuries. The history of these vineyards dates back to the 11th century, but the cooling effect of the Little Ice Age had brought winegrowing at this altitude to a standstill. Hudelot capitalised on global warming to restore the terroir to its former glory, creating a vineyard spanning around 30 hectares that has been producing great, age-worthy wines since the 1990s.

Hudelot was a winemaker with missionary zeal: he campaigned for the recognition of the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits as a distinct appellation, was a member of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin and a tireless ambassador for his village. His death in August 2019 left a void, yet his legacy lives on in the wines of Château de Villars Fontaine – and in the work of his son Patrick Hudelot, who now runs the estate under the name DPH Patrick Hudelot and produces five different wines from 22 hectares of organically farmed vineyards in Villars-Fontaine, Curtil-Vergy, Segrois and Concoœur.

The vineyard: ‘Les Genevrières’ – a single vineyard with character

‘Les Genevrières’ is a single vineyard in the south of the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits appellation, just a few kilometres from Nuits-Saint-Georges. The vineyard comprises a single plot and is planted exclusively with Pinot Noir – a monopole that the estate has been cultivating since the 1970s. The soils consist of clay-limestone with good drainage, ensured by the hillside location and the stony subsoil. The cooler climate of the higher altitudes – Villars-Fontaine lies at around 400 metres above sea level – slows the ripening of the grapes and gives the wines a pronounced acidity and a delicate minerality.

The wines from ‘Les Genevrières’ are describedfor their deep colour, their aromas of fresh red fruits when young, and their notes of candied fruit as they mature. Winemaking follows the estate’s traditions: the grapes are harvested by hand and rigorously selected, followed by a three- to four-week maceration period with daily pigeage and, where necessary, remontage. Ageing takes place over twelve months in oak barrels, around 20 per cent of which arenew – a moderate use of oak that preserves the fruit of the Pinot Noir. The wines are bottledunfined and unfiltered to preserve their full ageing potential.

The 2002 vintage: structure, acidity and longevity

The 2002 vintage was characterised by favourable conditions in Burgundy. A mild winter and a warm spring were followed by a summer with moderate temperatures, allowing the Pinot Noir grapes to ripen slowly and fully. The wines of this vintage are characterised by remarkable structure and precise acidity – qualities that make them wines with great ageing potential. The 13 per cent alcohol and well-integrated tannins give the wine a firm structure that is still evident even after more than two decades.

Tasting notes: A mature Pinot Noir of remarkable finesse

The tasting notes for the Château de Villars Fontaine ‘Les Genevrières’ 2002 paint a picture of a wine that has left its youth behind and is now in a phase of perfect maturity. One taster on Vivino describes it as “a Hautes-Côtes de Nuits that is still holding up well after 15 years” – with a nose where “the fruit has given way to notes of undergrowth and mushrooms”, and on the palate , fully integrated tannins, a silky texture and a long finish. Another tasting note from the same user describes the wine as having “a nose of vanilla-infused cherry and leather”, on the palate , powerful for a Pinot Noir and slightly tannic, with a slightly drying finish – a result of the 48-month barrel ageing – and a finish of cherry and a slight hint of menthol – a “very lovely wine”.

For a Pinot Noir from the Hautes-Côtes terroir that is over two decades old, these descriptions are remarkable: The wine has allowed its primary fruit to recede into the background and has developed the typical tertiary aromas of a mature Burgundy – undergrowth, mushrooms, leather and a hint of vanilla from the oak ageing. The silky texture and fully integrated tannins bear witness to the quality of the vintage and the estate’s meticulous winemaking.

The magnum bottle: a window into a bygone era

The existence of this magnum bottling is documented by auction lots on iDealwine: two 1,500-ml bottles were offered, with normal fill levels and standard labels, from a private collection and a natural, underground cellar. Another lot comprising four bottles of the same size was also auctioned, with the same characteristics: normal fill levels, normal observations, froma private cellar. The fact that these magnum bottles come from a natural, underground cellar – an environment ideal for storing wine – speaks volumes about the quality of the contents.

For the collector and connoisseur, the Château de Villars Fontaine ‘Les Genevrières’ magnum 2002 is a wine of great rarity – a testament to a bygone era of Burgundian viticulture, from a single vineyard in the hinterland of the Côte de Nuits, vinified by a winemaker who breathed new life into an entire terroir. Anyone who opens such a bottle holds not only a rare Pinot Noir in their hands, but a piece of Burgundian contemporary history – and a format that has preserved the essence of this history in all its richness.