I had a pretty miserable Tuesday evening this week wine-wise which started with me opening a corked 2018 Cotat Les Caillottes and a 2019 Barmes-Buecher lieu-dit Riesling (Diam10) that turned out to smell of rancid butter. I then grabbed this bottle of Huet that initially was so massively muted/devoid of fruit that I thought it could be mildly corked. Fortunately I saved it for the second day as there was nothing wrong with it, it just needed a lot of air. Now on fifth day it has absolutely blossomed and AGAIN I am wondering why I don’t buy Huet more often. Oh well.
2019 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Clos du Bourg - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (29.11.2023)
Way closed on day 1, note reflects day 2 performance. Tangy and citrusy on the nose - a bit backwards with quite many nuances still breaking out such as lanolin, yeasty notes, blood orange and the faintest hint of honey. On the palate it has good volume and weight with appropriate acidity that provides lift and even tension. Again not massively expressive, rather on the restrained side indeed, yet not missing anything and gaining intensity towards the finish almost exponentially. The blood orange-driven citrusy fruit leads on the palate without being overly dominant. The general feel is very lively and brisk, of course it is supremely youthful at this stage. I reckon it was just totally closed last night right after the opening and as we were in a negative mood after the two faulty bottles we didn’t have the patience necessary to give it enough time.
Day 5: There was one glass’s worth left in the bottle and to my surprise the wine turned out to be at its very clear best at this point. Very fresh still with a great balance between tangy fruit and acidity, an absolute delight.
So let me get this straight. You are a Frenchman who is clearly pretty deep into this wine rabbit hole and yet you have not ever tried a bottle of Huet to this day? How?
Coincidentally opened this last night with three non-geeks and thought it showed plenty well after being opened for about an hour. I’m sure there is plenty of upside but everyone enjoyed it.
Shouldn’t be too hard given the availability. Just realized that you are located right about halfway between Hotel des Bains and Vinograf, two of my favorite wine-related addresses. Must be a horrible life
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