Domaine Huet wines: Latest releases from a Loire legend

Founded in the Loire village of Vouvray in 1928, Domaine Huet is revered for its ageworthy Chenin Blancs . Gaston Huet, son of the founders, was mayor of Vouvray from when the AC was granted in 1947 to 1989, and supervised more than 60 vintages until his death in 2002. Scroll down to see the full profile and tasting notes [subscriber-content]The domaine then passed to his son-in-law Noël Pinguet, who had been working with Huet since 1976 and was instrumental in converting the 35ha domaine to biodynamic practices in 1990.Chinese-American businessman Anthony Hwang bought the estate in 2003, though the Huet family retains control of the stock of older vintages going back to 1921. Pinguet resigned suddenly in 2012 , reportedly due to disagreements with the Hwang family over wine styles. Today Jean-Bernard Berthomé, who has worked at Huet since 1979, is in charge of the vineyards and winemaking.Huet is famed for its three vineyards: Le Haut-Lieu (9ha) Le Mont (8ha) Clos du Bourg (6ha) Le Haut-Lieu is the original estate vineyard, whose rich limestone-clay soils give wines that are the most approachable in youth. Gaston Huet bought Le Mont in 1957, and the stony, south-facing vineyard yields wines of great minerality and tension. Clos du Bourg, purchased in 1953, dates to the 8th century and its 6ha of vines are surrounded by an ancient stone wall. Gaston Huet believed this to be Vouvray’s greatest vineyard, and its wines are certainly the most powerful and vibrant. Each vineyard expresses unique characters, and the wines can be made in four styles, subject to vintage conditions: [breakout] Sec (less than 5g/l of residual sugar) Demi-sec Off-dry, typically 15-25g/l) Moëlleux Meaning ‘mellow’, this is a medium-sweet style at 45-55g/l) Moëlleux Première Trie The ‘first picking’ of botrytised berries produces a wine with residual sugar of more than 60g/l All styles are balanced by very high total acidities of between 4-6g/l TA [/breakout] Putting this tasting in context Huet’s UK importer, Armit Wines, presented the 2017 release of the domaine’s wines at a special tasting in June, which also included some library releases. The 2017 vintage was the second year in a row that Vouvray was hit by spring frosts, which damaged 10% of the vines – especially in Le Haut-Lieu and Clos du Bourg. Cold weather meant the vines grew slowly but a hot, dry summer with some well-timed rain meant yields were healthy. The harvest was a month earlier than usual, finishing on 10 October; producing very little botrytis. [/subscriber-content] Domaine Huet: Latest releases & older wines [wine-collection] You might also like: Wine Legend: Domaine Huet, Le Haut Lieu 1947 Old-vine Chenin Blanc in South Africa Muscadet wines: Time to think again – panel tasting results

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Domaine Huet: Profile and tasting report on latest releases

Scroll down to see the full profile and tasting notes

Domaine Huet: Latest releases & older wines

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