2022 Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux Half Bottle 375ml, Loire

The 2022 Le Mont Moelleux is a medium-sweet, tender style that is just so welcoming and appealing. It is the quiet type that doesn't show off. It offers breadth without weight, which I always like about the Huet wines - they're like clouds of Chenin floating over your palate. A fine floral and fruity fragrance reminiscent of lilac, pear and pineapple lingers off the tranquil finish. While the acidity in 2022 is a little gentle, it still has enough tension to sweep up the wine and hold it all together. A little more length and line would elevate it further. (51g/L RS, in case you're interested 

94 points Rebecca Gibb MW vinous.com

Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux is a luminous, late-harvest Chenin Blanc from one of the most revered vineyards in the Loire Valley. Le Mont is the most tensioned and mineral of the estate’s three crus, planted on green clay and flinty soils over tuffeau limestone. This site produces wines that are finer and more vertical than those from Le Haut-Lieu, with incredible aging potential and a signature saline spine running beneath the richness. In Moelleux form, it offers both sweetness and structure in perfect harmony.

Harvested from fully ripe and often botrytis-affected grapes, this wine is fermented with native yeasts in large oak demi-muids and aged on fine lees. The Moelleux cuvée is defined by its concentration, but also by its elegance and precision — the sweetness never feels heavy, carried instead by electric acidity and mineral tension.

In the glass, it opens with aromas of white peach, baked apple, lime blossom, honeycomb, ginger and crushed chalk. The palate is expansive but tightly coiled, with layers of golden fruit, citrus oil, beeswax and flint. The finish is long and mouthwatering, with a saline lift and fine bitterness that give it energy and clarity.

Food pairing: ideal with pork and apple, duck with honey and spice, blue cheeses like Roquefort, or almond tart. Also a superb match for dishes with saffron or preserved lemon, or served alone as a quiet meditation wine.

Cellar potential: will age effortlessly for 20 to 40 years, gaining notes of saffron, lanolin, grilled nuts and dried citrus peel with time.