Le Haut Lieu Moelleux 1ère Trie 2022

A sweet Vouvray that doesn't flaunt its 95 grams of residual sugar. The nose stays restrained at first, more floral than concentrated, with a hint of honey, stone and preserved kumquats. The Chenin Blanc feels cool and stony here, with the full fruit still holding back.

Le Haut-Lieu is the vineyard where it all began for Domaine Huet: in 1928 the Huet family arrived in Vouvray for the first time and bought the estate along with this five-hectare site. It lies on the Vouvray plateau, on deep brown clay with a little flint and chalk in the topsoil, locally known as aubuis. Four metres below sits yellow tuffeau limestone.

The 2022 harvest began on 8 September, the second-earliest date in the estate's history, and stretched over six weeks – longer than the 24 pickers had ever experienced. Heatwaves and drought caused the grapes to ripen very unevenly. The Première Trie gathered the first botrytis-affected grapes, meticulously sorted over many passes, pressed and spontaneously fermented; malolactic fermentation took place only in individual barrels. The wine was aged in used demi-muids.

Here the wine opens up: soft, inviting, full of ripe, partly dried peaches, quince, yellow plums, oranges, apples and pears. The fruit is concentrated without ever becoming compote-like, and at 11.5% ABV, this young vintage stays light on its feet. Deep, dark minerality and fine acidity balance the sweetness.

Spaghetti with clams and chilli in coconut milk, veal liver mousse with caramelised apple slices and rösti, and pan-fried Jerusalem artichoke slices with roasted hazelnuts and raisins on mashed potatoes.

Gaston Huet introduced biodynamics as early as the late 1980s, and the entire estate has been Demeter-certified since 1993. A Moelleux 1ère Trie is only made in exceptional years, since it's the weather, not the winemaker, that decides whether botrytis appears. Since 2020, cellar master Benjamin Joliveau, a Vouvray native, has been responsible for the wines.