
Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec 2023
Domaine Huet
Le Haut-Lieu is the warmest of Huet's three vineyard sites, and the angle of entry here — Chenin Blanc roots meeting clay-silex soils with full sun exposure — produces a wine of generous fruit held in tension by acidity and minerality. The 2023 vintage is vibrant and poised, a perfect introduction to serious Vouvray.
Nose
Ripe quince and yellow apple, with honeycomb and chamomile underpinning a thread of citrus blossom. There's a subtle chalky minerality and a whisper of beeswax.
Palate
Off-dry and beautifully textured, with honeyed pear and white peach fruit balanced by a bright citrus acidity that prevents any cloying sweetness. The clay-and-silex terroir of Le Haut-Lieu gives the wine a textural grip that anchors the fruit.
Finish
Long and precise, with lingering honey, a green apple tang, and a flinty mineral close.
- Varietal
- Chenin Blanc
- Blend
- 100% Chenin Blanc
- Vineyards
- Le Haut-Lieu, Vouvray
- Alcohol
- 12.5%
- Organic / Biodynamic
- No
- Skin Contact
- No
Food Pairing
A smooth chicken liver pâté served with toasted brioche and tart cornichons plays off the wine's honeyed sweetness and citrus acidity, with the pâté's richness matched by the Chenin's textural weight.
Farmed biodynamically since 1990 under the guidance of Noël Pinguet and now managed by Jean-Bernard Berthomé, Domaine Huet's Le Haut-Lieu vineyard sits on clay and silex soils above the town of Vouvray, producing some of the Loire's most celebrated Chenin Blancs.
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