Domaine Huet

I'm always amazed by the wines from Domaine Huet. One of the the original champions of biodynamic agriculture, this famous domaine makes the best Vouvray by some distance and their wines are among the best in the world, quite a feat when you are dealing with the sometimes less than friendy Chenin blanc grape. The wines have a purity and balance that makes them quite unique, my preference being the demi-sec which, in the words of winemaker Noel Pinguet, is the purest expression of Vouvray from Domaine Huet.

We had a tasting in the shop last Friday and we tried the following wines:

Vouvray Petillant 2000- crisp, fresh, light with a fine mousse and delicate texture and only on the finish did the trademark Huet complexity come through. As fresh as a daisy, no sign of any bottle age.

Le Haut Lieu Sec 2005 - muted nose, very crisp acidity and good zesty fruit on the palate. Very nice.

Le Haut Lieu 1995 - much more expressice, quite cheesy and earthy on the nose, lovely explosion of tertiary flavours on the palate and again, very crisp acidity. The first bottle, delicious when opened, oxidised within 3 hours. The second bottle is still delicious 3 days later.

Le Mont Demi Sec 2002 - this was the stand-out wine for me - really delicious balance of honey and lemons with the acidity making the residual sugar irrelevant. Beautiful balance, world-class wine.


These wines go on forever and are well worth their not insignificant price tags, as long as you can get your head around them. They are wines for connoisseurs who will give them the intellectual consideration they demand. They are Jean Paul Sartre, if you want the vinous equivalent of Marian Keyes (and most people do), we can gently point you in another direction. If you want a wine that will challenge you, enthrall you and maybe even annoy you slightly, then look at the wines from this fabulous producer.