Definitely Vouvray’s and arguably the Loire’s most famous producer, Domaine Huet, is back with their newly released Chenin blancs from the 2023 vintage.
‘Tasting the wines just weeks after they were bottled, I was very encouraged,’ wrote Vinous’ Rebecca Gibb MW. A tough vintage for the Loire in general, a meticulous approach to sorting (production was 25% less than the average) worked wonders, as the brilliant 2023s from Huet defied the odds.
Only seven styles could be made this vintage, namely Sec from all three vineyards, as well as both Demi-Sec and Moelleux from Clos du Bourg and Le Mont.
Their 2019 Pétillant is a ‘Loire classic’ (Jancis Robinson). It is a traditional method sparkling wine and ‘offers not just a relative bargain but is one of the true unsung beauties of fizz’, commented Richard Hemming MW while tasting some older vintages from this estate. Aged on the lees for three years, with lower pressure than Champagne or Cap Classique, it’s an elegant, delicate wine that is a near-perfect accompaniment to most foods.
Farmed biodynamically, all three of Huet’s vineyards lie on Vouvray’s Première Côte, first slope – essentially Grand Cru equivalents.
Le-Haut Lieu
The 2023 Sec from Huet’s original vineyard, on deep brown clay over limestone, purchased in 1928, Le Haut-Lieu is as vivacious and pure as when I tasted it with Sarah last year in Vouvray. Quince and pear abound, with some spice and earth and a brilliant undercurrent of acidity with a driven, chalky finish. On the finish it shows dill and mint with a citrus spritz.
We added in a cheeky 2015 Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec since none was made in 2023. Only ten years old, this is a stonker and lauded to keep going until about 2045. Full-bodied and intense, there’s so much power and delicacy here and ‘the finish though is enormously vital and mineral’ (WA).
Clos du Bourg
Clos du Bourg is one of the oldest vineyards in Vouvray and was added to Huet’s domaine in 1953 (farmed since 1953, purchased in 1963). And yes, it is a proper clos with low stone walls around the vineyard. The soil here is rockier and shallower than in Le Haut-Lieu, with the brown clay giving way to a bedrock of limestone. It’s a bit warmer than the other two sites so often the team starts the first pick here. The 2023 Clos du Bourg Sec is ‘deep, complex and beautifully focused’ (John Gilman); ‘alluring and aromatic’ with a ‘salty density’ (Wine Spectator). ‘The concentration, and the classic amplitude and curves are there with a super line and frame’, wrote Vinous.
The 2023 Clos du Bourg Demi-Sec is everything you want in a Chenin. Elegant, the plush fruit – apple, grapefruit, pineapple and yellow peach; notes of honeycomb, minerality and saltiness are all perfectly balanced, kept tight by the otherworldly acidity and slightly (deliciously) bitter finish. ‘Supremely food friendly’, writes Wine Spectator.
Don’t let the 2023 Moelleux from Clos du Bourg slip through your fingers. This 98-pointer has it all. Subtle and satisfying, at the time of publication in 2024, Vinous’ Rebecca Gibb wrote, ‘It was only bottled three weeks ago, but I’m a fan already.’ Definitely built for the extra-long haul, this will still be sitting pretty 20 years from now. ‘Seamless and tranquil’ now (Vinous), expect it to build in power and complexity through the ages. Only a couple of cases available.
Le Mont
The 6 hectares of the Le Mont vineyard were acquired in 1957. The stoniest of the three, the clay here is of a green hue with lots of silex (flinty stones). It overlooks the Loire and is the coolest of the three sites. The wines from here are intensely stony and mineral, brilliantly structured, with its concentration and power juxtaposed against its delicacy or sense of weightlessness.
The 2023 Le Mont Sec is tightly coiled at the moment. It is ‘precise, upright and flinty’ (WS) with apple blossom, lush white peach and nectarines, ‘and has the potential to charm but does so without showing of’. The more you swirl and taste it, the more the wine opens up and the layers upon layers of fruit, florals, stone and chalk become apparent.
The 2023 Le Mont Demi-Sec has lots of substance and ‘for a demi-sec, this leans toward the dry, savory end of the spectrum.’ (WS). It ‘brings a sense of tenderness and amplitude to a terroir that’s big on precision and tension. It is shy initially, taut mineral and pure, then bursts with blossoms and fruit, elderflower, apple and quince, a pink peppercorn spiciness and rocky minerality with citrus bitterness. It has such depth of flavour, great salinity, and persistence. Always a favourite and lasts for ages.
Finally 2023 Le Mont Moelleux. I can’t say it much better than Vinous: ‘The 2023 Vouvray Moelleux Le Mont is a ripe, round, serious, suit-wearing wine style that’s upright and conservative. It’s sweet (74g/l) but never feels luscious, and yet there’s a tropical character to the fruit that gives richness to this reserved style’. Mesmerising, it will easily last another couple of decades with this extreme fruit purity and freshness both from the site and this vintage.
Please click here to view the tasting notes.
Email jolette@winecellar.co.za to order or if you would like to talk through the wines.
