Huet Evening, Including 1947 Haut Lieu

San Francisco
Tasted Tuesday, October 12, 2010 by drwine2001 with 730 views

Introduction

A white wine tasting/dinner couldn't have been timed better as the Bay area sweltered through an atypical fall day with the thermometer hitting 94 in San Francisco!

Flight 1 - New Releases (4 Notes)

Flight 2 - Two Demi-Secs with Some Age (2 Notes)

  • 2002 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Mont

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

    Fresh, pure citrus. Light in the mouth, ravishing acidity, again, great purity. Elegant, extremely young, poised for a very long run. Beautiful.

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  • 1992 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

    Totally weird combination of bitter almond, varnish, and mushoom with a little honey thrown in. Better on the palate than the nose, but still lacks concentration, adequate fruit, and harmony. Bitter finish. A curiosity from a year that was not destined to live 18 years. It cleaned up a bit over time, but not enough to make for an enjoyable experience.

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Flight 3 - White Burgundy Intermezzo (2 Notes)

  • 2007 Domaine Comtesse de Cherisey Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    Crisp, floral wine with a touch of oak. Good bite and length. Fine Premier Cru, but I was astonished to hear that it retails for $100. Not that special.

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  • 1997 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    Healthy color. Leesy, lactic nose with some vanilla. Excellent equipoise between leanness and creaminess. Just a hint of orange fruit. Not a trace of oxidation, fine acidity. Impressive given the vintage, but hardly profound. Remind me again why this is a $1000 wine?

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Flight 4 - Older Dessert Wines (2 Notes)

  • 1971 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

    Deep yellow with some orange. Citric and light bodied at first, somewhat disjointed, this really gained weight over time, but it never became perfectly smooth and integrated. Some almond kernel bitterness. Little botrytis. Amazingly young, and it only seemed more so as it opened. Better than my first bottle of this several years ago, but not great. Compared to other dessert wines, the weight is very satisfying, though.

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  • 1947 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Le Haut-Lieu

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

    Simply labeled as 1947 Haut Lieu, but this is clearly the Premiere Trie. Amber, tawny in color. On first whiff, you could swear you were sticking your nose in a Pedro Ximenez sherry, but when you taste this, there is remarkably little oxidation and an incredible array of aromas and flavors-nuts, toffee, citrus, cherry, apricot. Great acidity including some VA. Not nearly as unctuous or weighty as say a Sauternes of this age might be. Endless finish, great staying power and even improvement as it breathed. Pretty amazing and easily the wine of the night.

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Closing

A fascinating evening that allowed us to sample across vineyards, vintages, and levels of sweetness. Not all of the wines were great, and if the one '08 was representative, that is very disappointing for this young vintage. The '92 proved that even great producers can make bad wines in poor years. The '47? Now that was a glorious treat.

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