2016 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Mont

View From the Cellar

• By John Gilman
  May/Jun 2017, Issue #69, The Lovely 2016 Vintage From Domaine Huët

  (Vouvray “Le Mont” Sec- Domaine Huët) Login and sign up and see review text.

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Huet, 9/4/2017

  (Huet Vouvray Le Mont Sec) Hello friends. Wines from world class producers are not easy to source in any meaningful quantity. Hence the five year interregnum between our first Huet offer (October 2012) and our second (today). And make no mistake: Huet is world class, producing arguably the finest Chenin Blanc in the world from their perch in Vouvray. The wines are often sold on a pre-sale/allocated basis, and allocations, not surprisingly, go to retail and restaurant accounts that have a long history of supporting Huet. That’s as it should be. I support loyalty in the wine trade, and I know we have benefited from loyalty on the Washington and Oregon side of things. But we’ll keep elbowing our way into allocations when we can, and today we have a trio of parcels, all from the same vineyard (Le Mont), all at different sweetness levels. Tasting them horizontally allows a window into the influence of residual sugar on Chenin Blanc’s ability to transmit terroir. And each offers completely different food pairing options. I like sec with stuffed pork chops, demi-sec with jalapeno-studded tortas, and moelleux with pâté and cornichons. Quick logistics note: these are all quite limited, both in parcel size and in timing. In exchange for the importer placing a hold on these wines for us, I’ve agreed to place our order on Sept 11, for Sept 12 delivery, with no potential for subsequent reorders. This is a one-shot deal. For those unfamiliar with Huet, here is the quick history. The winery was founded in 1928 by Paris bistro owner Victor Huet. Victor’s son Gaston really grew Huet’s reputation over his 55 years working at the winery (with a five-year break in a German prisoner of war camp during World War II; amazing.) Gaston’s son-in-law Noel Pinguet joined the team in 1971, and for the next 40 years built the winery to world-class stature. Pinguet in 2012 turned the reins over to cellarmaster Jean-Bernard Berthomé, and the winery’s ascent has only continued. They work with three special vineyards: Clos du Bourg, Le Haut-Lieu, and today’s feature, Le Mont. Le Mont has the highest limestone content of the three vineyards, and the resulting wines are often the most mineral-soaked of the portfolio. My personal experience with Huet is that they produce otherworldly Chenin Blanc, wines that have buckled my knees with pleasure on numerous occasions. The wines are glorious in their youth and age effortlessly for years. You’ll see that reflected in the drinking windows below: 2018-2028, 2017-2032, 2017-2035. Considering those drinking windows, and the fact that Huet has been a once-every-five-years offer for us, I might recommend that lovers of these wines go long today, or at least as long as our parcels will allow.Wine Spectator: Copyrighted material withheld.