2020 Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux Première Trie, Loire Valley

The citrus-colored sample of the 2020 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux Première Trie still shows a very fine CO2 perlage in the glass that opens with clear and concentrated but also lush fruit and floral and chalky aromas, with lemon confit and fig mustard. Very elegant and even playful on the palate, with finely vivacious acidity, this full-bodied, silky and salty-piquant Haut-Lieu is beautiful in its terroir expression that favors a fruitier, fresher and more elegant style that is impossible not to like. Some of our readers might find it too vivacious and salty (while looking for hedonistic sweet wines), but as a critic, I am totally fine with this style. The aging potential should be great.

95-96 points Stephan Reinhardt robertparker.com

The 2020 Le Haut Lieu Moelleux Première Trie is pretty gorgeous with its sweet embrace (71g/L residual sugar) caressing the palate like a silky-smooth velouté. It sits calmly in the mouth, showing the typical fruit-forward character of the site, all oranges, chamomile and violets. The deeply satisfying finish provides the merest of grips, and fresh acid makes your mouth water. Already delicious in its youth, this wine has the concentration, acidity and sweetness to age gracefully, as Huet fans will know well.

96 points Rebecca Gibb vinous.com

Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux Première Trie is a profoundly expressive sweet Chenin Blanc from one of the Loire Valley’s most iconic producers. Crafted only in vintages when conditions allow for optimal botrytis or late harvest concentration, Première Trie refers to the first and most selective picking pass, where only the most intensely ripe and perfectly shrivelled berries are hand-harvested. The result is a wine of extraordinary richness and precision, marrying opulence with laser-like acidity.

The Le Haut-Lieu vineyard, first planted in 1928, lies on deep brown clay over limestone, giving this cuvée its signature generosity and roundness. Fermented slowly with indigenous yeasts in large old oak barrels, the wine is aged on lees with minimal intervention. There is no fining or filtration, allowing for maximum textural expression and purity of fruit.

In the glass, it opens with golden hues and aromas of apricot, candied citrus, acacia honey, quince paste, saffron and crushed chalk. The palate is unctuous but never heavy, with layers of poached pear, orange marmalade, almond cream and wildflower honey. A vibrant mineral backbone and piercing acidity cut through the sweetness, giving the wine exceptional balance and length. It finishes with a flourish of spice and stony lift.

Food pairing: excellent with foie gras, Roquefort, tarte Tatin, Persian saffron chicken or Moroccan lamb with apricots and almonds. Also remarkable on its own as a meditative dessert wine.

Cellar potential: built for decades. Will evolve over 30 to 50 years, gaining savoury depth, caramelised notes, and an ethereal honeyed complexity.