Glad to hear this. At $60, it was the cheapest of the three in my picture, but for Chenin that’s not cheap!
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Ha! Coincidentally, the Quatre Piliers is the only of the three I’ve opened. Definitely has a lot of dry extract going on — I agree it seems like it will age well. Can’t say it’s my preferred flavor profile, but I think there’s a spot for it in my cellar nonetheless.
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I’ve now (with a ‘16 Monopole Clos des Guichaux) had all the Guiberteau offerings (not across all vintages mind…), and I’m pretty sure its their Brézé that is the nicest wine they do -I think it has more elegance than the bigger Clos des Carmes that might need more cellartime.
A new single vineyard bottling from Chateau Yvonne. A rare bird it seems, tightly allocated.
Racy, with good flow and energy, with less stuffing than Le Gory or Saumur Blanc.
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I am having a 2021 as we speak and I have an impression that I enjoy it more than you did yours. The acidity is just right for a Sancerre. Stones, lime, yellow fruit, more stones. Cellar door pricing 40 Eur.
I suspect I prefer the '21 vintage in Sancerre over the '22 generally (though I haven’t had enough of either to say so conclusively).
My palate leans towards leaner, cooler-weather vintages and I like sharp acidity. If I were to ever have the '21 Vacheron Les Romains, it wouldn’t surprise me that I would like it (I actually kind of liked the '22, though it was bit ripe for my tastes).
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What a great thread to revisit on a 106F day, while enjoying a 2020 Cellier de l’Abbaye [Touraine] which is 13.5% abv and all sauvignon blanc. In theme with this thread, I’d classify it as an easy drinking cru bourgeoise, raised in steel and with lots of grapefruit pith, with a NZSB level of fruit. Online information seems to be scant (unfortunately turning up other regions wines) and the name gives the inkling of a co-operative, so perhaps its a Buyers own Brand, or some other odd situation. It’s very pleasing for daytime consumption. Sealed with DIAM3 too. We enjoyed this more than a Napa SB we had over the weekend, but I’d still slot this into the B grade zone. Normally this ilk of blanc survives 15-30 min on a July day at Casita Arv, but a splash or two survived til the next day.
Caesar salad, chicken Francaise, browned Russets. (Cucumbers on the side so that the kukenskeptikalkinder can avoid them)
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The best Loire Chenin I can remember was Domaine Huet Vouvray Franc de Pied Le Haut-Lieu, 2007 (drunk around 2018). I picked up a few bottles without knowing a great deal about them, at no great expense - sweet Jesus they were damn good ! On that basis, I’d take the Haut Lieu Franc de Pied above Clos du Bourg & Le Mont…or pretty much anything else!
La Porte Saint Jean Vin de France La Perlée is an electric & delightful Chenin Blanc worthy of consideration.
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2019 Huet - Clos du Bourg sec was pretty awesome last night. Possibly my best bottle to date, of the three or four I’ve had.
Finally got around to transcribing this TN …
2020 Thibaud Boudignon Savennières La Vigne Cendrée - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières (6/3/2024)
– cork pulled approx. 30 min. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 2.75 hrs –
NOSE: light/bright; freshly-cooked pasta; hint of spearmint; complex, but only moderately expressive (at best).
BODY: pale, green-yellow color; medium bodied.
TASTE: high acidity, without being aggressive; green grapes, smoky mineral, and a hint of gooseberry; seems to have a fair amount of dry extract (medium+); remarkably long finish goes on for minutes; a touch salinic, with some pear mixed-in. 12.5% not noticeable; Seriously excellent juice! Ash gut impression score: 95 — and I’m in the same neighborhood.
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When did Huet transition from great terroir and great winemaking to great terroir and average winemaking?
Who is saying that they did?
@Vince_T from the OP, though maybe I was exaggerating:
Finally, my initial list is going to be pretty sparse and may be (accidentally) controversial. For example, I’m going to add a vineyard or two in the First Growth category based on reputation of the terroir rather than the current level of winemaking.
Did Huet step backward, or did many others step forward? 
I’d vote for the latter, but I’m not sure I have quite enough experience to really give definitive comments on that.
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I don’t think @Yule_Kim was talking about Huet… he had put Huet in the super first growth, rather than first growth… I’m also not sure if he was even talking about chenin… maybe he was talking about Mont damnes for Sancerre?
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Ive heard a couple other people make comments about Huet not being what it was, at leasr in standing if not in quality, so I extrapolated. The bottles Ive tried seemed appropriately couled, and the value proposition is absurd, so its soon to be one of the largest holdings in my cellar largely due to backfilling.
Curious about @Jim_Brennan thoughts based on a note about Huets current ownerships winemaking decisions from a while back in this thread.
I don’t think its in dispute that Clos du Bourg and Le Mont (and Le Haut Lieu for that matter) are some of the best Chenin terroirs in the world based on how long Huet has been around and how many great wines over the decades the estate has produced.
Sure, there are probably plenty of other great Chenin terroirs: La Coulee de Serrant historically, though arguably the winemaking is a little shaky now. Also, I’m assuming others will argue in favor of Breze because of Rougeard, Le Noels de Montbenault because of Richard Leroy, Clos de la Hutte because of Boudignon, and Le Nourrissons because of Bernaudeau (and I’m sure a host of other vineyards from up-and-comers), but none of these terroirs (with the exception of Coulee de Serrant) have the same decades-long track record as Clos du Bourg, Le Mont, and Le Haut Lieu.
I’m not going to weigh in on current winemaking. My experience with Huet is centered around the wines made during Pinguet’s tenure. I haven’t had as much exposure with more recent vintages, but I’ve heard plenty of glowing reports about the 2019 Secs, so YMMV.
One concern is that the owners pushed Pinguet to start making more dry wines after taking over. The natural expression of chenin bends towards off-dry, and Huet is of course known for their moelleux as well, so that what’s led to Noel Pinguet (son in law of Gaston and long-time winemaker) leaving Huet early in 2012. Secondly, there’s a concern that winemaking techniques have changed to allow the wines to be more approachable in their youth, which raises the concern that they won’t have the longevity and nuance with substantial bottle aging (which is what most Huet fans are looking for).
Here’s an old article on the subject, where you’ll note that the “new” owners actually banned some wine writers from the estate (Jim Budd and Chris Kissack) and didn’t respond to questions about those bans or the stylistic changes that Pinguet referenced upon retiring early: https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2018/06/controversy-still-simmers-at-domaine-huet?form=MG0AV3
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Thanks for the article - it’s a disappointing response from Huet. I wish I had a point of reference to their wines when they were younger in the 90s/early 00s. Have you noticed them to be more approachable relative to before the winery was bought? With no point of reference, I find the wines to be tight as hell when young…
I saw @Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m linked to this in another thread.
I re-named it to be more about Loire white tasting notes – seems like we get a lot of Loire reds because of @Julian_Marshall 's thread, so it might be good to have a repository for Loire whites (which don’t seem to get posted as much).
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