1998 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu

Community Tasting Notes (12) Avg Score: 91.1 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/15/2020 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points

  A dry wine from the original Le Haut-Lieu vineyard of Domaine Huet. Fermented spontaneously in old oak barrels and stainless steel. 12% alcohol.
  
  Pale, slightly evolved yellow-green color. Restrained, somewhat developed and slightly sweet-toned nose with aromas of honey, some lemon marmalade, light notes of beeswax, a little bit of chalk dust and a hint of wool. The wine is light-bodied, lively and crisp on the palate with flavors of tart green apple, some developed nuttiness, light sharp notes of lemony citrus fruit, a little bit of tangy salinity, a hint of steely minerality and a touch of beeswax. Overall the wine feels somewhat thin, lacking a bit in substance. The finish is quite long, cool and mineral with flavors of steely minerality, tart green apple, some tart green apple, a little bit of developed nuttiness, light lemony tones, a hint of honeyed richness and a touch of marzipan.
  
  A stylish and surprisingly delicate dry Chenin Blanc that shows a bit of evolution, yet comes across as relatively youthful for its age. However, the wine hasn't developed much of that aged Chenin waxy richness, but instead comes across as relatively thin and underwhelming in body. There's lots of finesse and nuance here, but even with air the wine feels quite light and restrained in style. While the wine most likely will continue to develop more complexity as it ages, this most likely isn't going to be among the more impressive vintages of Huet. A lovely drop nonetheless. If paired with food, it's better to not put it together with something too rich that could overwhelm the wine.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View drwine2001's profile
  • Report Issue

  12/31/2018 - drwine2001 wrote:

  Last Dinner of 2018 with Friends (Los Gatos, California): Full yellow. No oxidative notes and low pitched fruit. Medium weight, not as textural as some Huets. Mellow mix of waxy fruit, citrus, and good acidity, not terribly dry, completely sound, just not the depth or length of the very best years. Very good but unlikely to get better.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View mkmast's profile
  • Report Issue

  6/18/2017 - mkmast wrote: 94 Points

  A beautiful example of what a wine can evolve into. Golden color stunning on the palate.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View RichardP's profile
  • Report Issue

  9/22/2016 - RichardP wrote: 90 Points

  Faint apple cider on the nose. On the palate, pear, apple cider, apricot, and strong notes of ginger and honeysuckle, with a slight sweetness underlying strong acidity. This is tasty and interesting, and it's ready to drink now, but it's not a good value at just under $60.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View James Kim's profile
  • Report Issue

  6/19/2016 - James Kim wrote: 93 Points

  Opened for 1 h prior to restaurant. Continued to develop during the course of the meal. A: Tart apples, a bit of bitter mineral, some chalk, flowers with some honeysuckle that emerges later. P:Tart apples, citrus, a bit of grapefruit pith, nice minerals in the midpalate. Great acids. F: Nice amalgam of tart apple, citrus, minerals with nice bitter pith. Of course, the last glass was the best - seamless harmony of all flavors with bright acids and minerals.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 12 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.