The wines of Domaine Huet, Vouvray  
Including a vertical of Demi-Secs

Website: www.huet-echansonne.com

Dating back to 1928, Domaine Huet is probably the leading name in the Loire appellation of Vouvray. They are well known as one of the early adopters of biodynamics, and have three key vineyards, with 35 hectares of vines in all.

Le Mont is an 8 hectare vineyard with soils composed of pebbly clay and silica. Le Haut-Lieu is slightly bigger, with 9 hectares of clay/limestone soil that’s quite heavy. Le Clos du Bourg is a 6 hectare stone-walled Clos, located just above the church in Vouvray. It has a thin topsoil over a limestone base. The balance of the 35 hectares consists of small parcels in plots near these three vineyards.

Grapes are picked manually in two or three ‘tries’ (passages through the vineyard) in October and early November. Bunches are pressed intact, and gently; fermentation is in a mix of large and small oak barrels, and larger stainless steel tanks. Natural yeasts are used, along with those which are present in the winery; no cultured yeasts are introduced. Fermentation is ended (almost all the wines have some residual sugar; many have a lot) by racking the wine and adding sulfur dioxide, which is the only chemical that is added. A light filtration is practised before bottling.   

These are serious age-worthy wines. Here I tried the new release 2008s, and then a vertical of Demi-Secs spanning back to the 1940s.

UK agent is Richards Walford

Domaine Huet Le Haut Lieu Sec 2008 Vouvray
15.4 g/l residual sugar, 13% alcohol. Lovely appley, lemony, honeyed nose. Quite full and fruity with some richness. The palate has lovely weight to the rich honeyed fruit along with great acidity and minerality. Really broad and attractive with a lovely finish. A brilliant wine. 92/100

Domaine Huet Le Clos du Bourg Sec 2008 Vouvray
13.5 g/l residual sugar, 13.5% alcohol. Complex, taut nose of nuts, minerals and pears. The palate has lovely rich nutty notes and a honeyed texture, with purity and precision as well as some richness. This is thrilling Chenin Blanc. 93/100

Domaine Huet Le Mont Demi-Sec 2008 Vouvray
27.1 g/l residual sugar, 13.5% alcohol. Tight nose of nuts, herbs and minerals. Smooth with some honeyed notes. The palate is concentrated and textured. Off-dry and with high acidity. Lovely purity here with nuts, minerals, herbs and pear fruit. 91/100

Domaine Huet Le Haut Lieu Demi-Sec 2008 Vouvray
29.8 g/litre residual sugar, 13% alcohol. Very rich, sweet nose, with melon fruit as well as notes of cheese and herbs. Richly aromatic. The palate is rich and open with lovely sweet, honeyed, citrussy, herby fruit. Some notes of straw, too. Just lovely. 93/100

Domaine Huet Le Haut Lieu Moelleux 2008 Vouvray
53.1 g/l residual sugar, 12% alcohol. Wonderful nose: sweet, honeyed and nutty with some minerals as well as ripe apple and pear fruit. The palate has lovely concentration with sweet citrus and pear fruit, straw and mineral complexity and great acidity. Long finish. 94/100

Domaine Huet Le Mont Moelleux 1er Trie 2008 Vouvray
Fresh aromatic nose. Nutty and rich with herby, spicy notes and pear and melon fruit. The palate is richly textured with broad, sweet, honeyed pear fruit and nice minerality. Concentrated, viscous and a bit spicy. Just lovely with real potential. 94/100

Domaine Huet Le Clos du Bourg Moelleux 1er Trie 2008 Vouvray
64.8 g/l residual sugar, 12% alcohol. Very precise with pure aromatics: sweet, bold citrus and pear fruit with notes of cream and lifted lime. The palate is concentrated, melony and honeyed with a rich texture and great concentration. The good balancing acidity means that it doesn’t come across as overly sweet. 93/100

Demi-Secs through the years

Domaine Huet Le Mont Demi-Sec 2005 Vouvray
Lovely cheese and herb savouriness to the nose, which is mineralic and a bit citrussy. The palate has a creamy edge to the savoury, nutty, herby fruit. Lovely wine. 92/100

Domaine Huet Le Mont Demi-Sec 2002 Vouvray
Aromatic, slightly reductive nose with lovely smoky minerality and savouriness. The palate shows dense savoury, citrus and apple fruit, and lovely minerality and acidity. Great depth here. 94/100

Domaine Huet Le Mont Demi-Sec 2000 Vouvray
Full yellow colour. Lovely complex nose showing apricot, herbs, nuts and citrus fruit. Hint of honey, too. The palate has nice texture and lovely density of complex nutty citrus fruit with some honeyed richness. Long finish. 94/100

Domaine Huet Le Mont Demi-Sec 1988 Vouvray
Yellow colour. Intriguing complex honey and nut nose with some rich herby, cheesy notes. The palate is nutty and savouy with some herby notes. Quite savoury. 90/100

Domaine Huet Le Haut Lieu Demi-Sec 1971 Vouvray
Deep yellow colour. Very rich, open, sweet herbal nose with a hint of tinned pea. Honey and nuts, too. The palate has a distinctive open herbal character with a hint of cheesiness. Slightly sour finish. 90/100

Domaine Huet Le Haut Lieu Demi-Sec 1962 Vouvray
Beautifully open, lifted nutty nose. A little volatile but with beautiful precision and harmony, showing complex herby notes, nuts, apple and lemon. The palate has apricot richness as well as fresh acidity and a long bright lemony finish with complex nutty notes. 95/100

Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg Demi-Sec 1957 Vouvray
Yellow gold colour. Wonderfully complex nutty nose with some lemony fruit, as well as peach and pear richness. Beautifully complex broad and sweet on the palate with lovely intensity of rich melon, lemon and apricot fruit. Still relatively youthful and developing beautifully in a way that’s surprising when you consider that this wine is over 50 years old. 94/100

Domaine Huet Le Haut Lieu Demi-Sec 1949 Vouvray
Gold colour. Lovely intensity to the nose: lifted cheese, nuts and herbs, with a lovely savouriness and almost a salty character. The palate is open with a lovely herbal quality, some lanolin, some pear and dried fruit notes. Very lively and intense. This is beginning to show its age, but it’s lovely for such an old wine. 95/100

Wines tasted 09/09 
See also: a review of Huet wines from April 2005; tasting notes of Loire wines
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com

Back to top