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    12° C Broken clouds
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    17:11 PM
  • Wine average?

    93 Tb
  • Country Ranking?

    388
  • Region Ranking?

    2
  • Popularity ranking?

    222

History

Undoubtedly the leading estate in Vouvray, it would be no exaggeration to describe Domaine Huet as the leading exponent of Chenin Blanc in the world. For here, in the cool chalk cellars under the tufa cliffs of the middle Loire, Gaston Huet and son-in-law Noël Pinguet fashion an extraordinary range of wines, each with its own style and personality, but all made 100% from Chenin - the "ugly duckling" of classic white grape varieties. From crisp and refreshing Sparkling wines, through dry but rich whites to luscious dessert nectars, every bottle that comes out of these cellars is a masterpiece of elegance, complexity and balance. Furthermore, the still wines have an ageing capacity greater than most of the world's top reds, let alone whites. For these reasons, Noël Pinguet was recently honored as "White Wine Maker of the Year" at the International Wine Challenge.

The domaine was created in 1928, but the single vineyards of Le Haut Lieu, Clos du Bourg and Le Mont have a history dating back much longer, their fame linked to the Loire's rich heritage of monks, kings and poets. Gaston and Noël have recently added a new chapter to the story, with the conversion to full 'Biodynamic' viticulture. The decision was based on empirical observation, rather than any soft spot for New Age mumbo-jumbo: 4 years of trials in the Clos du Bourg proved wonderfully successful, and the entire estate converted in 1990. Sceptics take note !

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Vineyards

The domaine headquarters are in the town of Vouvray, 10km east of Tours, on the right bank of the Loire river. The magnificent cellars are cut from the tufa chalk cliffs, and provide ideal cool conditions for ageing in cask and bottle.

There are 3 important single vineyard holdings: Le Haut Lieu is up on the plateau above the town, surrounding the elegant house where M. Huet lives; Clos du Bourg and Le Mont are on the best slopes that drop down to Vouvray and the river. Various other plots are located nearby.

Le Haut Lieu has a deep, brown clayey limestone soil. Clos du Bourg features a much shallower topsoil, barely covering the limestone rock. Le Mont is stony, with green clay and silica.

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Winemaking

All grapes are harvested by hand, with the pickers returning to the vineyards a number of times between mid-October and mid-November in search of noble rot. The grapes go direct to the modern pneumatic presses for a slow and delicate pressing. Depending on the year, and the instance of noble rot, the resulting juice can contain anything up to 400g/l of natural sugar. The musts are never chaptalised; instead a decision is made about the most suitable style for each batch, ranging from dry to fully sweet.


Vinification take place in a selection of small barrels, larger 600 litre oak casks, and 3000 litre stainless steel tanks. Temperatures are kept between 14 and 17°C, and only indigenous yeasts are used, leading to long, slow fermentations that can last 2-3 months. The wines are racked and sulphured when the right balance of sugar and alcohol has been reached, as follows:
Sec: 11.5 - 12% alcohol; 3 - 5 g/l residual sugar
Demi-Sec: 12 -13% alcohol; 10 - 20 g/l residual sugar
Moelleux: 13 - 14 % alcohol; at least 30 g/l, but can be anything up to 200 g/l residual sugar.
There is no malolactic conversion, the young wines rest over the winter, are then racked a couple of times, filtered and bottled in April. Once in bottle, they may be aged many years in the cool damp Huet cellars before eventual release.

The Sparkling wines are made from less ripe, higher acid grapes. The method of production is as in Champagne, with secondary fermentation in bottle, 2-3 years ageing on the lees, hand remuage and dégorgement. Mousseux is fully sparkling, Pétillant only semi-sparkling, with a pressure in bottle of 2.5 atmospheres.

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Inside information

To anyone who knows Vouvray, Huet needs no introduction. This estate enjoys a reputation second to none. The wines originate from three superb individual vineyards : Le Haut Lieu, Clos du Bourg and Le Mont. Le Haut Lieu, surrounding the late Mr Huet's home, was already considered one of the best vineyard sites in the region as early as the 15th century. The vineyards are operated according to biodynamic principles with the total avoidance of chemical fertilizers. The wine making is traditional with cool fermentation and long ageing in cask and bottle in the cool damp cellars carved out of the chalk cliffs.


The resulting wines are very special. Sometimes austere and closed when young these wines age beautifully. They are the expression of the Chenin Blanc at its best. The sweet wines from the great vintages are the stars. They may be kept for 50 years or more and still show their gorgeous honey botrytised flavours over layers of rich unctuous fruit.

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8 different wines with 36 vintages

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