Huet Cuvée Constance (Vouvray, Loire, France), 2015 versus 1997 tastings
Piqua, OH with Dame Jackie
Tasted June 22, 2018 by sweetstuff with 99 views
Introduction
Here is a chance from our marital cellars to compare two highly-regarded and rare dessert wines--the Botrytis-affected Constance from what are a selecion probably the three most prized vineyards in the whole region. Making sparkling wine, dry wines, semi-dry wines, sweet ('molleux') wines, and more intensely selected 'premier trie moelleux' wines in the very best vintages, the Le Haut Lieu, Le Mont, and le Clos de Bourg vineyards, there are three expressively different terroirs here.
The 1997 vintage was an overripe and Botrytis-affected vintage, with the 2015 vintage grown under more balanced conditions. Again, this is a cuvée ad lib from the best fruit that Huet grows.
The 1997 was made by Gaston Huet and the 2015 was made under the ownership of Anthony Hwang, also owner of Kiralyudvar in Tokaj.
Flight 1 (0 notes)
s2015: Very bright refractive gold; 'squared-up' tears, sheety-viscous. Evidence of the melonic-punchy Clos de Bourg is in the nose's shimmery front of ginger and acacia flower, with a tissue of candied notes wrapped around it. Glissome liquid honey slides, again, with that shimmering, glistening slide into a bright but mellow finish. 94-96/100; Very long. To drink now is perhaps infanticide, but the pleasure of a young, great dessert wine is there, so go ahead.
1997: I tasted a bottle of this from Rare Wine Company perhaps 15-20 years ago, and it was a light-colored blond with noble rot much more tightly wound, showing a touch of oxidative linden leaf, caramel, some mild tarry and melon notes. Midpalate is a beautiful crystalline glucose; an almost fizzy finish, a juicy throat-grabber. Jean-Bernard Bertholmé made this wine under Gaston Huet's son-in-law Noel Pingot. 91/100. Advise drinking this now-2022. The Chenin blanc might not be as ageworthy as some high-level dessert wines in my experience but is surely makes in Huet some of its greatest. I do know more from report than experience that the half-dozen or so greatest Huets ever made are nearly immortal.
Closing
1997: I tasted a bottle of this from Rare Wine Company perhaps 15-20 years ago, and it was a light-colored blond with noble rot much more tightly wound. Today showing a touch of oxidative linden leaf, caramel, some mild tarry and melon notes. Midpalate is a beautiful crystalline glucose; an almost fizzy finish, a juicy throat-grabber. Jean-Bernard Bertholmé made this wine under Gaston Huet's son-in-law Noel Pingot. 91/100. Advise drinking this now-2022. The Chenin blanc might not be as ageworthy as some high-level dessert wines in my experience but is surely makes in Huet some of its greatest. Is in a pleasant but awkward place and don't know if better days are in store for it or not.