Matt's 1989 Huet-a-thon

MattHo decided we could assemble a decent cross-section of the legendary 1989 Huet sweeties; the group concluded that it would work best if we had a dry white 'palate cleanser' before an intermission of red Burgundy. And the evening did indeed work very well...

• 2008 Deutz Champagne Blanc de Blancs 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  A new wine for me and - wow, delicious! Honeycomb and toffee meet damp green undergrowth, dusky flowers and sherbert. So juicy and vital, and very long. An auspicious start.

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Sole fritter with jalapeño dressing
Tomato arancini, harissa sauce
Coronation chicken on toast

• 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg 90 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  69g/l, 13.1%. Deep amber. Delicate, musty nose, with marmalade and varnish. It's no longer particularly sweet, with the flavour of ginger biscuits and initially excellent grip and length. After a little bit, it fell behind the quality of its flight-mates, with the midpalate losing power, although the finish held up. Enjoyable but presumably not a top bottle of this.

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• 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Le Mont 96 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  79g/l, 13.4%. Shining deep gold. Bigger than the Bourg and Haut Lieu. Lots to enjoy on the nose: sweet flowers, rich biscuits, lifted apricot and a waft of something green. Thick and pretty sweet on the palate, which felt luxurious, lifted, complex and tangy; each sip started gently, then opened up to strut its stuff, with a prickle on the long finish. A dreamy wine, and my and the group's WOTN.

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• 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Le Haut-Lieu 95 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  92g/l, 12.7%. My third time with this wine, and the best of three great showings. Shining deep gold, as for the Le Mont. Full, exotic, sensual nose, with sweet flowers and spice like a Sauternes, and slightly heady. Despite the breadth of the wine, it also had more bite on the palate than its flight-mates, giving excellent balance to match the delicious flavours of Jamaica ginger cake, golden syrup, biscuit and tangerine. Really big on the finish and fanned out wonderfully. My #2 tonight.

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• 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Début Pressée Le Mont 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  190g/l, 10.3% - so a lot sweeter than the 1er trie wines in the preceding flight. Deep, even brown. Zesty, vegetal nose, with notes of pea shoots and oolong tea as well as a hint of something floral. Full-bodied on the palate, but airy too, with mandarin, passionfruit and miso caramel. Notably silky mouthfeel, and excellent length. Sadly not as mindbendingly good as a bottle in 2019, but still voted the group's #2 tonight.

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• 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Essai Bio Moelleux Clos du Bourg 92 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  An experimental blend. Chestnut colour. Rather sweet, nutty, syrupy but tingly nose. A touch of spritz on the palate, and a curious set of flavour notes: Refresher sweets, baked apple, pineau de Charentes. Raisiny finish. This did have its fans tonight, but personally I preferred the more conventional wines.

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• 2018 Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Vin de France

  Intermission palate-cleanser. So grassy! I also found lemon zest and sassafrass on the austere, flinty nose. Crisp on the palate, with notes of crab apple, bitter almond and raw sugarsnap pea - a relatively challenging wine. Really, really, really long finish, that gave the wine a stretched-out, attenuated feel. Not sure I've had a wine quite like this before; one person at the table labelled it as 'molecular Sauvignon' and I'm happy to adopt that moniker.

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• 2006 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

  Initially tired, reticent nose, which showed some animale notes as well as powdery dark fruit; with air, the fruit became redder and a coffee note developed. Dark-toned on the palate, still a touch drying and tannic, and with a slightly hollow midpalate (is that the vintage?). The finish was better, though, with crisp, tasty red apple. After a while in the glass the wine seemed to wake up and marry together a little better - decent mature Burg.

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• 2008 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Roncières 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

  Super nose: engaging, lively and complex, with delicate red fruit, sweet decay, and nettles. Sadly the palate doesn't live up to the nose, being tart and astringent and lacking depth of fruit. Certainly food-friendly, though.

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• 2009 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Roncières 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru

  Deep red fruit, bonfire smoke, espresso and a hint of animale on the attractive nose. Savoury, ashy, bitter palate, which was quite soft, with sweeter red fruit showing on the finish. Easier to enjoy than its flight-mates, but less complex. Also fairly tertiary, but lots of life left here.

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• 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Fin De Pressée Le Mont 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  225g/l, 10.4%. A really big, succulent wine. Sweet biscuit on the nose. Bright, sweet orange on the palate, excellent definition, clean and energetic. Great fun. My and the group's #3 tonight.

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• 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance Flawed

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  162g/l, 10.9%. Intense, biscuity nose, with orange, mushroom and... the dreaded touch of cardboard. A classic dessert wine on the palate, so still enjoyable, but this absolutely didn't show all of its glory tonight.

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On the night a clean-sweep for the Le Mont wines, with plenty of highlights as well as the inevitable casualty or two. Superb matching dishes, too - savoury as well as sweet. What a great evening!