Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesThe white-golden colored 2020 Vouvray Clos du Bourg Moelleux Première Trie shows CO2 pearls in the glass, and it indeed opens somewhat reductive, asking for a Burgundy glass. Yet even though the 2020 Clos du Bourg asks for patience, it already indicates a terribly concentrated bouquet of lemon chutney and humid chalk. On the palate, this is a full-bodied, rich and juicy, very elegant and generous Chenin from this ancient six-hectare grand cru (one of the oldest in France, as the domaine assures). It is immediately attractive, stimulatingly piquant and nourishes hope for a great future. The potential is doubtlessly there, but 7-10 years of our patience is presumed. Tasted as a sample in May 2021. Range : (96-97)
This lush, refined wine boasts lots of complexity, with pineapple chutney, yellow fig paste, verbena and heather notes that are edged with crystalized ginger, mango, cardamom and mineral elements. Beautiful and enticing. Drink now through 2040.
The very sensual nose of candied orange, floral honey and vanilla bean drags you into this luscious and beautifully balanced expression of the chenin blanc grape. Very impressive concentration and precision, the intense mineral acidity effortlessly balancing the ample unfermented grape sweetness. Very long, honeyed yet bright finish. From bio dynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
Today, Domaine Huet may be making its most consistently great wines. As was one of the earliest adopters of biodynamic practices, and with years of experience working with the appellation's greatest terroirs, winemaker Jean-Bernard Berthome and his team are achieving a fascinating level of transparency, purity, and knife-edged balance in the wines.
An important white wine appellation in the Touraine and one of the top in all of the Loire, Vouvray uniquely specializes in a wide range of styles from dry to sweet, and still to sparkling, each with its own definitive character. Vouvray is almost always 100% Chenin blanc (however up to 5% Menu Pineau is theoretically allowed but not often used).
Vouvray is also the name of a pretty little town just east of Tours on the northern bank of the Loire—its vineyards surround it to the northeast. Houses and cellars are carved out of the local tuffeau, a chalky or sandy, fine-grained limestone. Vineyards inhabit clay and gravel topsoil over tuffeau on the plateau, the best of which have a slight slope with a southerly aspect.
Chenin blanc’s high acidity and natural adaptability allow it to produce a wide range of styles with enormous success. Styles under the Vouvray name include sparkling, both Brut and Demi-Sec and still: Sec (dry) and Tendre (off-dry) as well as Demi-Sec (noticeably sweet), Moelleux (very sweet) and Liquoreaux (botrytized). Most can age about five years but the best quality versions will continue to improve over decades.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.