2017 Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Franc de Pied Sec, Loire

In 1985 Domaine Huet planted an experimental .20-hectare parcel of own-rooted Chenin Blanc in the Haut-Lieu vineyard. This micro-parcel is not always bottled separately and seldom leaves France’s shores, so we’re delighted to accept our small allocation of the 2017 release. Huet’s ex-Chef de Cave, Jean-Bernard Berthomé, has told us that in comparison to this vineyard’s ‘regular’ dry bottling, the ungrafted vines gift a slightly deeper and more tightly wound expression that takes longer to unfurl. Hence the extended aging in bottle for this release.

2017 was a vintage that encouraged very little botrytis, so the domaine’s focus in this year was on the dry and demi-sec wines. his is a superb, precise white that fans out across the palate in tiers of quince, white flowers and candied citrus, sandwiched between fine layers of chalky minerals and saliva-inducing tension and structure. Finishing with 5 g/L residual sugar, you can expect a deep and racy Chenin of finesse, purity and length. Huet lovers should not miss this release.