TN: 2019 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu (Now with bonus Le Mont)

2019 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (1/12/2021)
Fantastic young wine. The nose is aromatic and perfumed, evocative of a fruit salad dressed with honey and lime zest. The palate is racy and fresh, with plenty of concentration. The same sensation of honeyed lime on the palate too, with a big hit of minerality on the finish. Absolutely outstanding for the price. Why don’t I buy this more often? (93 pts.)

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For me, Huet wines and especially the Sec are one of the few truly world class wines still available for less than a Grant ($50).

I grabbed 6 each of the three Sec in 2019. Winemaker’s final vintage and all.

Broke my wine buying fast a few days ago with a case of this wine and a case of the demi-sec Le Mont.

I think all three of the secs are stellar in 2019. For me, clos du Bourg was the standout (whereas I usually favor le Mont), but I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them.

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Exact same 2019 huets I bought! Except i bought them last August and September and didn’t have to out myself on alan’s thread :slight_smile:

Is Berthomé leaving?

He retired.

Ah, didn’t hear about that. Do you know who’s taking over?

Edit: “Benjamin Joliveau, a Vouvray native who worked hand-in-hand with Jean-Bernard starting in 2009.” Polaner Selections

Sounds exactly what Vouvray Sec should be!

We don’t buy a lot of it or every vintage, but we just noticed recently that we’re running low on chenin, especially dry and demi. There’s a place where neither chardonnay nor Riesling is going to work, but chenin shines. Have to have the goods when those situations arise!

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Damn you all! Fast broken

Interesting, on another thread, everyone was advising to load up on the Le Mont and Cote de Bourg instead of Le Haut Lieu (which I love, but not a lot of experience with the others).

I have two moratoriums now threatened - no drinking, no buying for now.

I feel like I need to taste one of the Haut Lieu’s now to see if I should break my other moratorium.

I’m curious about those situations . Riesling was my first love, but quarantine has set me off on a big white burgundy kick. It feels like a lot of ground is covered by these two - especially considering all of the wonderful ways in which Riesling can shine. What do you consider chenin territory?

I tried both of the 2018 Haut Lieu and Le Mont and found the Haut Lieu to be “thinner” than the Le Mont, though that’s not exactly the right word - I can’t figure out how to describe it properly. It just didn’t feel quite as incredible as the Le Mont did. If I gave the Le Mont an A, I would give the Haut Lieu an A-.

I painted with broad strokes in my earlier comment, I admit. “Won’t work” is not a good choice of words. “Won’t quite do the job” or “won’t do the job as well” would be a better ways of putting it. I think there are food pairings where, while chardonnay and Riesling (two versatile food pairing tools for sure) would be just fine and not in any way detract, they won’t be able to do the full job that chenin could. The most obvious one to me is a cheese plate, particularly goat cheese heavy. Demi-sec chenin with a little age has gears that neither chardonnay nor Riesling, as versatile as they are, don’t have. I feel the same way about many salmon preps, and some other richer fish. To me, it’s like spreading cold butter on your bread versus softened - the cold butter will taste great, but it won’t seep in and bind like the softened.

Don’t get me wrong, I drink way more Riesling and white burg than I do chenin. Riesling in particular is my go to pairing for a great deal of what I eat. There are just those certain times when chenin does it better.

Thanks, Sarah! I love the cold butter metaphor :slight_smile:

Max–Huet Clos du bourg was the only sec they made in 2018. Were you talking about demi-sec? Otherwise, your description of the Haut-Lieu would fit for the sec–it’s often a little leaner than certainly clos du bourg. In some vintages this is a plus, and in some, it puts it under the other two.

Personally, there is enough of a difference in style between the three secs that I enjoy having some of each, to mix and match depending upon the situation.

Whoops, typo, 2017 is the vintage

Interesting to see the comments re: who bought how much of what from the Huet stable this year. For many years I did not buy Huet — too many relative disappointments, but the TNs on the 2019 Huets were too tempting, so I jumped back on the bandwagon. I bought strictly off TNs, and went with 2 parts Le Haut Lieu to one part Clos du Bourg to zero parts Le Mont. Both sec…

It’s always a challenge because they made several wines so I can’t load up on everything every year. This year I bought some Le Mont Sec and Haut-Lieu sec. Now I’m wondering whether I need to go back to the well for Clos du Bourg sec. Decisions, decisions…