Now this was spectacular and much much better than the first bottle I had the other day. Fabulous sweetness of maple, honeycomb, filigreed acidity and bitterness of bitter orange and grapefruit. Fabulous.
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A bit muted and tired at first but gained with aeration. The sweetness has gone to a large extent giving way to fabulous notes of bitter orange, dried apricot, spice
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Huet Evening, Including 1947 Haut Lieu (San Francisco): 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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Mostly French Dinner in Honor of Ken Birman (Conduit, San Francisco): Fantastic orange tinged amber color. Nose is equally fantastic, with ginger, other spices, pear, honey, and caramel. Intense yet delicate flavors, not too sweet, some almond on the finish, and strong balancing acidity. This does not bowl you over with massive concentration or power, but it has held up exceptionally well. (The night after, a strong scent of orange marmalade)
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Brief note... Fantastic stuff. Serious acid framework beneath layers of toffee, honey, citrus and hay. Powerful on the palate, with good balance. The assertive finish goes on and on. Wow.
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Dinner at St. Jacques. Medium gold in color. one of the few signs of this wine's age. This being our first bottle opened of this particular wine I made the mistake of opening it to enjoy with dinner based on the '71 Huet Demi Sec and the '71 Baumard Quarts de Chaume, wines that would indicate that '71 was a great vintage in the Loire but not one of extreme sweetness. Given this I thought a 1ere Trie would have lost enough sweetness at age 36 to be a great match with a dinner of rich French food ( Onion soup, Ravioli Whittington stuffed with veal and foie gras, Duck a l'Orange ). Upon the first sip I was struck by 2 things - this is a great bottle and I made a mistake and opened a wine that is still very sweet. Being troopers we "suffered" through the poor match and judged the food and wine on their own merits tonight instead of on their pairing. Good nose but the palate is where this wine really explodes. Sweet but with good acidity, the sweetness dominating some for now as previously noted. Over the 2+ hours of dinner and with a bit of cooling in an ice bath the sweetness subsided some. One of those rare wines where you feel compelled by it's power yet it has a delicate nature to it as well. The fruit almost floats on the palate, a sensation I love in the finest wines of this ilk. While there is clearly complexity to this wine it also seems like it is still on the upward trajectory and will get even better with more aging. I plan to drinkt he rest of our Demi Secs while letting this age more. 50+12+13+8.5+8.5 = 92+ I can't believe I'm giving a "+" indicating probable future upward potential to a wine of this age. These Huets are truly timeless!
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11/16/2021 - ShadowIII Likes this wine: 95 Points
spectacular, vibrant, alive, racy acidity, complex nose of apple, pear, kiwi, ginger, candied fruit, long finish
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10/3/2014 - mwanasheria wrote: 95 Points
Initially a port-like nose which became fresher with time. On the palate seville orange, spices, candied fruit. Great.
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11/4/2012 - mwanasheria wrote: 96 Points
Now this was spectacular and much much better than the first bottle I had the other day. Fabulous sweetness of maple, honeycomb, filigreed acidity and bitterness of bitter orange and grapefruit. Fabulous.
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9/16/2012 - mwanasheria wrote: 91 Points
A bit muted and tired at first but gained with aeration. The sweetness has gone to a large extent giving way to fabulous notes of bitter orange, dried apricot, spice
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10/12/2010 - drwine2001 wrote:
Huet Evening, Including 1947 Haut Lieu (San Francisco): 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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4/16/2008 - drwine2001 wrote:
Mostly French Dinner in Honor of Ken Birman (Conduit, San Francisco): Fantastic orange tinged amber color. Nose is equally fantastic, with ginger, other spices, pear, honey, and caramel. Intense yet delicate flavors, not too sweet, some almond on the finish, and strong balancing acidity. This does not bowl you over with massive concentration or power, but it has held up exceptionally well. (The night after, a strong scent of orange marmalade)
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3/22/2008 - Ben Andersen wrote:
Brief note... Fantastic stuff. Serious acid framework beneath layers of toffee, honey, citrus and hay. Powerful on the palate, with good balance. The assertive finish goes on and on. Wow.
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11/10/2007 - JeffGMorris wrote: 92 Points
Dinner at St. Jacques. Medium gold in color. one of the few signs of this wine's age. This being our first bottle opened of this particular wine I made the mistake of opening it to enjoy with dinner based on the '71 Huet Demi Sec and the '71 Baumard Quarts de Chaume, wines that would indicate that '71 was a great vintage in the Loire but not one of extreme sweetness. Given this I thought a 1ere Trie would have lost enough sweetness at age 36 to be a great match with a dinner of rich French food ( Onion soup, Ravioli Whittington stuffed with veal and foie gras, Duck a l'Orange ). Upon the first sip I was struck by 2 things - this is a great bottle and I made a mistake and opened a wine that is still very sweet. Being troopers we "suffered" through the poor match and judged the food and wine on their own merits tonight instead of on their pairing. Good nose but the palate is where this wine really explodes. Sweet but with good acidity, the sweetness dominating some for now as previously noted. Over the 2+ hours of dinner and with a bit of cooling in an ice bath the sweetness subsided some. One of those rare wines where you feel compelled by it's power yet it has a delicate nature to it as well. The fruit almost floats on the palate, a sensation I love in the finest wines of this ilk. While there is clearly complexity to this wine it also seems like it is still on the upward trajectory and will get even better with more aging. I plan to drinkt he rest of our Demi Secs while letting this age more. 50+12+13+8.5+8.5 = 92+ I can't believe I'm giving a "+" indicating probable future upward potential to a wine of this age. These Huets are truly timeless!
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