Wine Advisor
Huet, Vouvray Clos du Bourg Sec 2009
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: David Schildknecht
The Huet 2009 Vouvray Sec Clos du Bourg is rich and oily yet at the same time impressively juicy and bright, with fresh lime and grapefruit that almost seem as though they could have been conferred by the addition of Sauvignon. Possessed of a sweet, saline, crustacean reduction-like savor; and a remarkably palpable sense of density, this displays some of the same energy and sizzling intersection of white pepper, citrus oil, and chalk as found in the Le Mont, but here there is more refreshment, refinement, and mineral diversity. It should be worth following for the better part of a decade, if not beyond. Seen superficially, one might have expected the stressful proximity of mother chalk, paucity of fine earth and consequent difficulty to retain stress-relieving water during a warm, dry late summer and autumn to have rendered the balance in Clos du Bourg more problematic, but the opposite is the case, demonstrating both the virtue and mystery of this site. Noel Pinguet professes great confidence in his 2009s and pleasure in one of those rare vintages where it was possible to bottle everything from sec through Cuvee Constance. That said, he admitted that achieving a balanced dry wine was challenging, and total production of sec was down from the estate norm; that of demi-sec, surprisingly, even more so (represented by a single bottling); virtually half of the vintage production being moelleux. While acknowledging similarities to 1996, Pinguet finds 2008 most closely resembles 1988. His is one of the few 2008 collections from Vouvray or Montlouis that is clearly less consistent than the corresponding 2009s, which he also finds more interesting. Importer: The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (800) 999-4342
About the Producer
Since its founding in 1928, Vouvray’s Domaine Huet has been the standard-bearer for great, age-worthy Chenin Blanc. And to this day, year after year, the estate produces some of the world’s most compelling white wines—and in a remarkable range that spans sparkling, dry, semi-dry, and breathtaking dessert styles. Chenin Blanc has been identified with Vouvray since at least the 9th century, and many of its great vineyards were known by the 14th century. By those standards, the 90+-year-old Huet estate is relatively young. Yet it was this youngster that established, once and for all, that Vouvray was capable of world-class quality. The domaine’s founder, Victor Huët, was a Parisian bistro owner. However, with lungs and nerves shattered by his experiences in WWI, Victor re-settled to the town of Vouvray in France’s beautiful Loire Valley. He soon purchased the first of his great vineyards, Le Haut-Lieu, in 1928, and Domaine Huet was born. The Grand Crus For all his salesmanship, Gaston understood clearly that quality must come first—and that quality started with great vineyards. His Le Haut-Lieu parcel, which lies on Vouvray’s “Première Côte” (or “first slope”), is home to virtually all the appellation’s acknowledged grand cru vineyards. As the estate prospered in the post-WWII era, Gaston secured two additional prime vineyards on the Première Côte that would ensure the domaine’s stature: Le Mont (purchased in 1957) and Clos du Bourg (farmed since 1953, purchased in 1963). Collectively, these three vineyards, and the wines made from them, account for Huet being the greatest of all Vouvray producers.
