Cuvée Constance 2016 500ml

The Cuvée Constance is Domaine Huet's exceptional noble-sweet wine, bottled only in special years since 1989. The 2016 gleams golden amber, layering rich honey, candied orange, sweet cassis, rhubarb and passion fruit. With every breath, notes of Earl Grey, cardamom and galangal emerge, offset by fresh lemon balm, nettle and cassis leaf.

Vouvray, Première Côte: here Domaine Huet has farmed the three sites Le Haut-Lieu, Le Mont and Clos du Bourg on limestone and clay since 1928. Le Mont sits directly above the historic tuffeau cellars; the deep galleries maintain a constant temperature and give the wines time in neutral vessels.

Chenin Blanc, called the grape of moonlight in Vouvray. Whether botrytis concentrates the grapes is decided by the weather, not the winemaker, which is why this bottling appears only in exceptional years. Gaston Huet converted the estate to biodynamic farming in the late 1980s; it has been Demeter-certified since 1993. Cellar master Benjamin Joliveau, a Vouvray native, has overseen the wines since 2020.

Oily and complex, the sweetness is blazing yet carried by freshness. The mid-palate is powerful and minerally saline, acidity and fine tannin keep the wine lively, and the finish lingers long.

A wine for creative cuisine: spicy grapefruit salad with Thai basil and roasted cashews, foie gras crème brûlée with cassis-beetroot ice cream, or rhubarb meringue tart with fresh mint.

A rarity regularly ranked among the world's greatest noble-sweet wines, with tremendous ageing potential. 500 ml, 11.5% vol.