Corked, but not massively so. Otherwise the bottle was sound and you could tell it would actually be quite beautiful. I think I would have landed around 93 points if it wasn't corked.
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Fantastic showing, just like my last bottle. Drinking brilliantly right now with the fruit still very fresh and vibrant, but showing lots of developed savoury goodness as well, and so well balanced with really bright acidity to cut through the sweetness.
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Beautiful wine. Somewhat drier than I would have expected (as Adrian also notes) and a bit more mature than I would expect a '97 to show now, but absolutely delicious with ripe quince, honey, and tarter citrus fruit and already showing quite a bit of that mature Chenin wooliness. Moderately sweet - less than I typically expect from Moelleux, but very easy to drink with bright acids keeping the sugar balanced and making it feel very light and refreshing.
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1996 Jadot Horizontal (Chicago, IL): Every time I drink a Huet (that's not Constance), I always think that the wine should be a little bit sweeter than it is. This is no exception. On the other hand, it's still an outstanding bottle, with loads of complexity from the botrytis. It's very elegant and lovely, and that vein of racy acidity here with green apple is absolutely delicious.
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Deep yellow colour. More fruit on the palate than other complexity, mostly yellow plum. Good balance between sweetness and acidity. Not sure where this is heading but enjoyable now.
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- Yellow brown color with slow forming legs and aromas of honey with a medium body. Smooth texture with a medium finish - Dark yellow, mild nose , full body on palate still with some acidity and lovely mouth feel without too much sugar. A beautiful desert wine which paired beautifully with chocolate mousse /berries .
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Honey Butter Fried Chicken and blinds (Chicago, IL): Served double-blind. A tinge of orange is the first sign this is a sweeter wine, and indeed it is. This tastes a bit like Sauternes without all the heat, and there's a somewhat funky cantaloupe flavour on the palate. All that, along with the colour and the state of the secondary characteristics got me thinking mid-1990s sweet chenin... which clearly means that the 1997 Huet Constance that I had a few days ago was probably flawed in some way or other.
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Compared to my note 3 years ago, on this tasting this wine is better balanced and longer lasting than I thought. Maybe not a great Huet but still a very good wine. The usual good length and concentration. Now only off-dry tasting.
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Bright golden yellow colour. This is a wine that captured, but also required, my attention. Stunner of a nose, still dominated by fruit. Reduced apple (applesauce?) and a hint at pineapple. Nuanced and luxurious. There is a nice caramelized nature that keeps coming through. Classic honeycomb as it warms. Medium-full bodied, just barely sweet and brightly acidic. Good apple and lemon flavours. The palate is a little more on the fresh side of things than the nose. I'm glad I opened this now. It has all the balance of a well-aged wine with a mustiness that slowly moves towards honey and spice. This is a great wine that one should sit and take their time with. It is massively complex and is constantly changing. So much so that one just has to stop themselves from writing about it and just drink.
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Loire Odyssey, Part IV - Vouvray (Blu, Shangri-La, Singapore): Very good, but this was certainly a challenging, rather intellectual wine that called for slow appreciation and contemplation. Not for everyone maybe. It had a strange little nose, with classic notes of lanolin and wet wool tinged with some wet cardboard accents that came up every now and then, suggesting at some type of flaw. There was none though, the more cardboardy accents lifted substantially with time, evolving into a nice metally, mineral accent lacing sweeter core aromas of honeysuckle, nectar and gentle yellow fruit on a bed of savoury lentil notes. Very complex and interesting. The palate was even more so, with a nice halo of spice floating around deeper layers of savoury soy flavours, honeyed notes, sweet lemons and red apples, some stony minerality and a little fresh herb note, basil maybe, alongside some floral notes drifting in at the long finish. With time, pure apple flavours touched by those little spice accents started emerging more and more. I was surprised when it was revealed as a Moelleux, because one barely noticed the sweetness. Restrained rather than sensual, it had great balance and beautiful detailing so that while it still gave a lot of sensory pleasure, it was a clearly a more intellectual wine that called for one's full attention. Intriguing stuff. Very good.
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Copper gold. A warm, round nose. Less baked apple than I usually associate. Not overly complex. Palate has a nice balance of medium sweetness which is just starting to dry and produce the first hint hollowness. A lovely foil for foie gras.
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Kelvin's Wedding Lunch (Regent Hotel, Singapore): A lovely wine. very precise, controlled, and surprisingly un-sweet for a Moelleux. It had typical Vouvray notes on the nose, with lanolin, woolen socks, honey, nectar, yellow fruit and plenty of saline minerality. Some secondary mushroomy notes marked its age. The palate was every so fresh and alive though, with nicely integrated acidity washing through fresh lemon and grapefruit flavours on the attack and through a complex mid-palate full of minerally extract and into a long, chalky finish. As noted earlier, this was not very sweet for a Moelleux, but there was certainly plenty of concentration to go along with its lovely balance. A very refined, elegant wine, and one that has a long, long life ahead of it.
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Medium-yellow gold colour. Aromas of mineral, apple, and lemon rind. Medium-bodied, medium-sweet. Refreshing, with mineral, apple, and pear. Moderate finish, 30s, with mineral and apple notes.
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Medium gold colour. Aromas of wax/lanolin, grape must. Medium-sweet, great minerality and acidity. Honey, persimmon, spice, and grape must on the palate. Moderate-long finish, with white fruit and spice.
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Portfolio Ref # LOI E2 Setting: TO Offline # 4 @ Eau Appearance: bright, medium+ intensity gold core, very narrow white rim, medium+ viscosity Nose: clean, medium+ intensity, honeyed apple, citrus, brandy barrels and a slight mushroom note Palate: clean, off-dry, cooked apple with lemon and mineral notes, average acidity (just off crisp), average alcohol, medium+ body and length, very good balance Comments: a lovely starter - I am starting to really appreciate older Loire wines! biodynamic, 12.0%
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1/22/2023 - MJReb wrote: 89 Points
Wet soil, honey, less sweet than expected, over the top already.
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1/15/2023 - viniferatu wrote: flawed
la Gloire de la Loire...
this was corked, but you could tell that there was something very nice underneath the taint...
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12/26/2021 - Wine Canuck wrote: flawed
Corked, but not massively so. Otherwise the bottle was sound and you could tell it would actually be quite beautiful. I think I would have landed around 93 points if it wasn't corked.
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1/31/2021 - Cellar Stock Likes this wine:
Mistake only have 4
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2/12/2019 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Fantastic showing, just like my last bottle. Drinking brilliantly right now with the fruit still very fresh and vibrant, but showing lots of developed savoury goodness as well, and so well balanced with really bright acidity to cut through the sweetness.
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9/17/2018 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful wine. Somewhat drier than I would have expected (as Adrian also notes) and a bit more mature than I would expect a '97 to show now, but absolutely delicious with ripe quince, honey, and tarter citrus fruit and already showing quite a bit of that mature Chenin wooliness. Moderately sweet - less than I typically expect from Moelleux, but very easy to drink with bright acids keeping the sugar balanced and making it feel very light and refreshing.
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9/17/2018 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
1996 Jadot Horizontal (Chicago, IL): Every time I drink a Huet (that's not Constance), I always think that the wine should be a little bit sweeter than it is. This is no exception. On the other hand, it's still an outstanding bottle, with loads of complexity from the botrytis. It's very elegant and lovely, and that vein of racy acidity here with green apple is absolutely delicious.
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9/8/2018 - Milos wrote: 92 Points
Deep yellow colour. More fruit on the palate than other complexity, mostly yellow plum. Good balance between sweetness and acidity. Not sure where this is heading but enjoyable now.
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4/19/2018 - Zweder wrote: flawed
Monthly tasting club "The Tasting Club": Chenin Blanc (@ SB): A lot of sweetness and acidity, but unfortunately the wine is not really fresh. No score.
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6/25/2017 - rwpalmer wrote:
Consistent with my note as far back as 2011 suggesting a loss of fruit. Really not that enjoyable anymore.
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4/16/2017 - cknapp wrote:
- Yellow brown color with slow forming legs and aromas of honey with a medium body. Smooth texture with a medium finish - Dark yellow, mild nose , full body on palate still with some acidity and lovely mouth feel without too much sugar. A beautiful desert wine which paired beautifully with chocolate mousse /berries .
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12/22/2016 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Honey Butter Fried Chicken and blinds (Chicago, IL): Served double-blind. A tinge of orange is the first sign this is a sweeter wine, and indeed it is. This tastes a bit like Sauternes without all the heat, and there's a somewhat funky cantaloupe flavour on the palate. All that, along with the colour and the state of the secondary characteristics got me thinking mid-1990s sweet chenin... which clearly means that the 1997 Huet Constance that I had a few days ago was probably flawed in some way or other.
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11/26/2016 - Machiavelli wrote:
Odd bottle, light nose of saltwater/mussels, apricots on the palate and very dilute. I don't think it's representative.
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10/28/2014 - rwpalmer wrote: 90 Points
Compared to my note 3 years ago, on this tasting this wine is better balanced and longer lasting than I thought. Maybe not a great Huet but still a very good wine. The usual good length and concentration. Now only off-dry tasting.
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5/6/2014 - Wine Canuck wrote: flawed
A Casual Tuesday at Crush with some guys from Toronto (Toronto, ON): Pours deep golden brown. Concerning dark. totally shot: mute nose. All cardboard and no fruit. Corked and oxidized.
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5/1/2014 - Dandiophile wrote:
Bright golden yellow colour. This is a wine that captured, but also required, my attention. Stunner of a nose, still dominated by fruit. Reduced apple (applesauce?) and a hint at pineapple. Nuanced and luxurious. There is a nice caramelized nature that keeps coming through. Classic honeycomb as it warms. Medium-full bodied, just barely sweet and brightly acidic. Good apple and lemon flavours. The palate is a little more on the fresh side of things than the nose. I'm glad I opened this now. It has all the balance of a well-aged wine with a mustiness that slowly moves towards honey and spice. This is a great wine that one should sit and take their time with. It is massively complex and is constantly changing. So much so that one just has to stop themselves from writing about it and just drink.
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3/10/2012 - Paul S wrote: 92 Points
Loire Odyssey, Part IV - Vouvray (Blu, Shangri-La, Singapore): Very good, but this was certainly a challenging, rather intellectual wine that called for slow appreciation and contemplation. Not for everyone maybe. It had a strange little nose, with classic notes of lanolin and wet wool tinged with some wet cardboard accents that came up every now and then, suggesting at some type of flaw. There was none though, the more cardboardy accents lifted substantially with time, evolving into a nice metally, mineral accent lacing sweeter core aromas of honeysuckle, nectar and gentle yellow fruit on a bed of savoury lentil notes. Very complex and interesting. The palate was even more so, with a nice halo of spice floating around deeper layers of savoury soy flavours, honeyed notes, sweet lemons and red apples, some stony minerality and a little fresh herb note, basil maybe, alongside some floral notes drifting in at the long finish. With time, pure apple flavours touched by those little spice accents started emerging more and more. I was surprised when it was revealed as a Moelleux, because one barely noticed the sweetness. Restrained rather than sensual, it had great balance and beautiful detailing so that while it still gave a lot of sensory pleasure, it was a clearly a more intellectual wine that called for one's full attention. Intriguing stuff. Very good.
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4/10/2011 - rwpalmer wrote: 87 Points
Copper gold. A warm, round nose. Less baked apple than I usually associate. Not overly complex. Palate has a nice balance of medium sweetness which is just starting to dry and produce the first hint hollowness. A lovely foil for foie gras.
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12/12/2010 - solace wrote: 90 Points
rich on palate but nicely contained and delineated - not flabby at all.
very enjoyable and classy.
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12/12/2010 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
Kelvin's Wedding Lunch (Regent Hotel, Singapore): A lovely wine. very precise, controlled, and surprisingly un-sweet for a Moelleux. It had typical Vouvray notes on the nose, with lanolin, woolen socks, honey, nectar, yellow fruit and plenty of saline minerality. Some secondary mushroomy notes marked its age. The palate was every so fresh and alive though, with nicely integrated acidity washing through fresh lemon and grapefruit flavours on the attack and through a complex mid-palate full of minerally extract and into a long, chalky finish. As noted earlier, this was not very sweet for a Moelleux, but there was certainly plenty of concentration to go along with its lovely balance. A very refined, elegant wine, and one that has a long, long life ahead of it.
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7/10/2009 - Zweder wrote: flawed
Corked
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3/27/2009 - Slics wrote: flawed
corked
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11/26/2005 - futronic wrote: 93 Points
Medium-yellow gold colour. Aromas of mineral, apple, and lemon rind. Medium-bodied, medium-sweet. Refreshing, with mineral, apple, and pear. Moderate finish, 30s, with mineral and apple notes.
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5/14/2005 - futronic wrote: 92 Points
Medium gold colour. Aromas of wax/lanolin, grape must. Medium-sweet, great minerality and acidity. Honey, persimmon, spice, and grape must on the palate. Moderate-long finish, with white fruit and spice.
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4/8/2004 - Nuray wrote:
Portfolio Ref # LOI E2
Setting: TO Offline # 4 @ Eau
Appearance: bright, medium+ intensity gold core, very narrow white rim, medium+ viscosity
Nose: clean, medium+ intensity, honeyed apple, citrus, brandy barrels and a slight mushroom note
Palate: clean, off-dry, cooked apple with lemon and mineral notes, average acidity (just off crisp), average alcohol, medium+ body and length, very good balance
Comments: a lovely starter - I am starting to really appreciate older Loire wines! biodynamic, 12.0%
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