Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg Sec 2021
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Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
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Winemaker Notes
This ancient, walled vineyard was acquired in 1953. It has estate's the shallowest, stoniest soils and produces wines of great depth and richness.
Many consider the six ha Clos du Bourg to be Vouvray’s finest single site.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Vouvray Clos du Bourg Sec opens with a clear and elegant, finely chalky bouquet of ripe and juicy, well-concentrated fruits. It is richer and more intense on the nose than the ascetic Haut-Lieu and reveals delicate lemon fruit intermingled with pure chalk notes. Accordingly, the palate is textured and round yet also refined and very elegant, with round and juicy fruit, very fine tannins and a high energy level due to its finely mineral acidity and tension. Very charming, complex and probably with a certain amount of residual sugar, this is another long-distance runner that is already a great pleasure to drink at this early stage. It has great potential. 13.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in March 2023. Best After 2023
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James Suckling
Initially this dry Vouvray is a bit closed on the nose, but has terrific structure and wonderful elegance on the rather rich yet very focused palate. Then, with some aeration, the delicate citrus-zest and peach-skin aromas develop. Long finish that’s simultaneously creamy and stony. From bio dynamically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.
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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.
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.
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.