2022 Meursault Genevrieres HdB Cuvee Baudot

This brilliant wine is undergoing élevage under the watchful eye of the talented Alvina Pernot (one of the rising stars of Puligny-Montrachet). There's a smoky, savoury edge to the otherwise generous fruit. The oak stands out a little at present, but there's such an impressive weight to the palate, packed full of ripe nectarine and peach, yet still with zippy acidity bringing freshness. Broad and textured, Alvina anticipates this will need longer in barrel than her other wines to fully resolve and reach its potential, which is clearly great.

Such is the quality of the 2022 vintage, French critic Bernard Burtschy believes it to be the Hospices’s best to date – no doubt helped by greater precision in the winery and vineyard under director Ludivine Griveau. Jasper Morris MW said that the 2022 vintage recalled 1999 with its “impressive structure” with none of the over-ripeness seen in some wines from the similarly concentrated 2018, ’19 and ’20. The Cuvée Baudot plot is named after Félix Baudot, born in 1796, who was a great collector of paintings, stained glass and antique stone slabs. His collection was sold at auction in Beaune in 1882, with the proceeds going to the Hospice de la Charité. Located in the south of the appellation, the Genevrières climat covers about 16.5 hectares. Genevrières is one of the most elegant Premiers Crus in Burgundy. Its white marl subsoil produces wines of incredible purity and precision. Split into two, Genevrières Dessous provides incredibly opulent aromas and body, while the upper part of the vineyard, Genevrières Dessus, provides more structure and minerality. The Hospices Cuvée Baudot comes in equal parts from Dessus and Dessous. The youngest vines date from 1979, with the rest older – planted in 1944, 1948, 1956 and 1964.