2019 Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Haut Lieu Sec, Loire

The deep brown clay soils of the Haut-Lieu plateau provide the typical fruitiness and freshness wonderfully in Huet's 2019 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Sec. Ripe pear, tangerine and orange fruits with notes of lemon grass and green pimientos intertwined with very fine chalky and later tobacco notes give a remarkably fine, elegant and harmonious, subtly complex and simply gorgeous bouquet with floral (lime blossom!) and yeasty aromas that are immediately attractive. Delicate and linear on the palate, this is a pure, fresh, bone-dry, lean and textured, highly refined and perfectly interwoven Chenin with persistent purity, finesse, salty-mineral tension and very fine tannins. Highly finessed and so pure and vivacious! This is a chalky picture-book Haut-Lieu that can age for many years, even though it is already dangerously seductive! There was no dry Le Haut-Lieu produced in 2018, but the 2019 is possibly the finest, most delicate and elegant I've had in recent years, at least at this early stage. A terrific and buoyant Vouvray that any Chenin lover should try—or, better yet, cellar! 13% alcohol. 80,000 bottles made. Tasted in July 2020.

95 points Stephan Reinhardt robertparker.com

As readers know, I have been very enthusiastic about the generous 2018 series from Domaine Huet. The 2019 vintage, which was as sunny as 2018 but much drier, is completely different in style and yet is still another terrific vintage for the iconic Vouvray domain. Fans shouldn't miss the chance to buy some of the world's finest Chenin Blancs, which are still spectacularly moderate in price. Although only four wines were produced in 2019—Le Mont is the only wine that was also produced as demi-sec, while the other two were only produced as sec—these are the finest, purest, most delicate yet also intense Vouvrays I have had from Huet in recent years. Namely, the high-toned, illuminating 2019 Le Haut-Lieu is fascinating in its purity and finesse as well as its filigreed, seriously long and salty character. Le Mont Sec, always my personal favorite among the Vouvrays from Huet due to the mineral tension and nerviness possibly caused by the silex stones in the tuff soils, comes in third for me this year. Still a great, tight, powerful and concentrated Chenin that makes Le Haut-Lieu a lightweight, the finish is—still?—slightly brittle and I'm not fully convinced yet that this will change with bottle age. The Le Mont Demi-Sec, however, is fabulously sublime! It is round and juicy but also very delicate and piquant and ropes in its delicate sweetness with fine tannins and persistent salinity. The 2019 Clos du Bourg is another stellar Chenin: ripe, deep, rich and complex yet also pure and vital, with great finesse and elegance and an impressive finish. The 2019 is probably the most amazing Clos de Bourg I have tasted as a young wine! In their own vintage report, the domain writes that the lack of water was "terrible" in 2019. "A scorching summer accentuated the desiccation of the plant. In order to mitigate the effects of these extreme conditions and bring some comfort to our vines, we applied the French adage 'un binage vaut deux arrosages,' one hoeing is worth two waterings. We regularly worked the soil in order to avoid evaporation of water, preserve the plant's food, and limit its stress." In the end, the grapes reached full maturity. "Our meticulous work at harvest enabled us to obtain juice of great purity," which was used for the production of base wine for pétillant as well as for the four terroir wines. However, the concentrated grapes didn't provide the balance necessary for the production of sweet wines. Due to the drought, not only was the vegetative growth affected, but the plant's photosynthesis performance also decreased as the roots searched for water... Here is what the domain writes regarding the season: "The story of this vintage comes to life at the time of winter pruning. Curved over the vine, we sculpt the vine, leaving only four arms per plant and two eyes per spur, a pruning method called 'goblet.' With a keen eye, we select the branches that will support the 2019 harvest. Marked by mildness, winter 2018/2019 looked like spring. After a month of January in line with the season but without a real cold spike, February recorded record high temperatures, and we noted a rainfall deficit of around 30% compared to seasonal norms. “The pruning of the vines went smoothly and was facilitated by a beautiful light; we reserved for March the pruning of the vines planted in frost-sensitive areas... As in recent years, the risk of spring frost was very present in April. With our eyes on the thermometer, the night of April 4 seemed endless; the previous day's weather forecast forebode another catastrophic year. But against all odds, Mother Nature graced us with 0 degrees Celsius at sunrise, -2 degrees Celsius an hour prior, and the 2019 harvest was temporarily saved. “Spring set in without an excess of rain nor temperatures, allowing an excellent exchange between the vine and its terrestrial and celestial environment. To the rhythm of Maria Thun's sowing schedule and the addition of homemade compost, we helped the vines find the strength to fight parasites and disease, and remain in symbiosis with the other plants in their environment. The deficit of precipitation from the month of February continued. “The summer of 2019 brought hot weather, with a first heat wave in late June and a second in late July. The reserves of water that had accumulated in our tuffeau soils during the winter dwindled without further rain, and the water ran out. To mitigate the effects of these conditions and bring a little comfort to our vines, we regularly worked the soils to avoid water evaporation and preserve the plants' nourishment. Thus, the smallest drops of water, however few that they were, directly benefited the roots, and we limited the summer water stress.” As they say in Europe, and certainly also in Vouvray: September makes the harvest. This was true again last year as well, "as the maturity of the grapes arrived in this decisive month." The harvest started on September 23, after the clouds in August had settled permanently over the vines, dimming the light of the sun. "More than ever before, the sorting table worked wonders. It helped us to refine the selection of grapes each day, ensuring that only the best bunches were received at the press. The rain came on the full moon of October 13, just after the harvest had ended." After 2018, 2019 is another qualitatively great vintage for Huet, even though the series includes only four wines. If you are a collector, you shouldn't miss the 2019s, but hurry up, quantities are much less generous than in 2018.

The 9 ha Le Haut Lieu vineyard sits on deep brown clay (known as aubuis) with some chalky topsoil. Here the yellow limestone (tuffeau) bedrock lies up to four metres down, making a heavier soil that produces round, supple wines that can drink very well young. That’s not to say the wine of Le Haut Lieu don’t have the capacity to age deliciously. We have enjoyed bottles from the 40’s that are still drinking very well!

The biodynamic Huet estate comprises three key terroirs with clearly identifiable personalities  … it is justly regarded as the leading property in the Vouvray region.

Clive Coates MW The Great Wines of France 

No matter what the vintage or the wine style (including sparkling), the quality [chez Domaine Huet] is always extraordinary and clearly reflects the excellence of their terroirs. The chiseled, contoured mouthfeel and precise minerality are unique in the Loire.

 La Revue du Vin de France

Widely considered to be the single greatest Vouvray domaine and one of the foremost white wine producers in the world today, Domaine Huet should require little introduction. We are now very fortunate to have both Huet, the great, established benchmark of Vouvray, and François Chidaine, the ‘new’ star, in our stable. These are two of the finest producers of Chenin Blanc the world has seen.

Domaine Huet was founded in 1928 by Victor Huet, however it was his son, Gaston, who was to make this Estate one of the greatest France had ever known. Gaston worked with his father until 1937, after which he took full control. Over the next five decades, Gaston drove the Huet name to greater and greater heights. He inherited the Haut-Lieu vineyard and went on to purchase Clos du Bourg in 1953 and the Le Mont site in 1957. These three great terroirs were the foundations on which Domaine Huet’s reputation was forged. In 1971, Noël Pinguet, Gaston’s son-in-law, joined the Estate and another era began. Together, Gaston and Noël continued the progress of the estate. It was Pinguet who converted the vineyards to biodynamics in the late 80s, and put greater emphasis on the purity and precision of the wines. Jean-Bernard Berthomé, who at the time was chef du culture of Domaine Huet and is the Estate’s current winemaker, was the driving force behind the Huet’s advancement in biodynamic farming.

When Gaston Huet passed in 2002, Pinguet sought a financial partner and in 2003, Anthony Hwang, a New York based businessman, invested in the Estate. The Hwang family continued to work with Noël Pinguet for a decade until the latter’s retirement in 2012. Today the vineyards and cellars of the Estate are managed by Jean-Bernard Berthomé, who has played an integral role at Domaine Huet since 1979. Assisting Berthomé is Benjamin Joliveau, who has worked at the estate since 2008 and was hand picked by Noël Pinguet.  Sarah Hwang heads up the business side of things in her role as President. It is really an exceptional team as anyone in the region will tell you. It seems clear that we have now entered yet another exciting era in the history of Domaine Huet. The Hwang family has already proven that they are committed to the continued, positive evolution of the Estate and have spared no expense to this end. As Francois Chidaine recently told us, the Huet legacy is “...in very good hands”.

The wines of Domaine Huet are bottled and labelled according to their three vineyard sites which are described below. Each vineyard expresses unique characteristics and each can be made in 3 styles, subject to vintage conditions: Sec (bone dry), Demi-Sec (off dry, typically 10-20 g/lt residual) and Moelleux (slightly sweeter at approximately 30 g/lt). If the vintage allows, each vineyard may also produce a Moelleux 1er Trie (the first picking of botrytised berries) that produces a wine with residual sugar of about 60-100 g/lt and yet also with very high acidity. Like all great “sweet” wines of the world, the wines from demi sec onwards taste deceptively dry because of the terrific sugar/acid balance. These are excellent food wines and should not be thought of as “dessert wines” to be served exclusively at the end of the meal. Rather they are far better served throughout the meal or with delicate cheeses. The exception is the “super cuvee” Cuvee Constance which is only made in the greatest sweet wine years from a blend of the most concentrated botrytised fruit from all three vineyards. This is truly one of the great sweet wines of the world and is best served with dessert or cheese.

There are also some exceptional sparkling, pétillant, wines produced here with the dosage often coming from older demi-sec wines. These wines have a lighter bubble than traditional sparkling wines and are a wonderful alternative to Champagne. All the grapes for the wines of Domaine Huet are hand harvested with multiple passes or tries through the vineyard. This enables the selection of only the best bunches of clean fruit, for dry and sparkling wines, and shrivelled and botrytised grapes for the sweet wines. No malolactic fermentation and no new oak are used in the maturation process, with the aim being to retain the freshness and purity of the grapes for all the wines styles.

All of the wines of Domaine Huet are remarkable. They are fantastically aromatic and dance across the palate with a zest and an intensity that seems other worldly. They are constantly evolving both in the glass and in the bottle and are seemingly immortal. Huet wines from the 40s and 50s are still drinking wonderfully!