Le Mont Moelleux 2023

A nobly sweet Chenin Blanc of dense, ripe character: quince, kumquat and mango combine with brown sugar, stone and smoke. Ripe, yet precise and well structured, elegant and complex.

Le Mont lies east of the estate on the first plateau of Vouvray, the Première Côte, directly above the historic tuffeau caves and facing south. The vineyard is mentioned as early as the 15th century and, at nine hectares, has been the sole property of Domaine Huet since 1957, acquired by Gaston Huet. The topsoil, several metres deep, consists of gravelly flint, in places the size of a fist and locally called perron, set in deep green clay over Turonian tuffeau limestone.

Chenin Blanc. In 2023 spotted wing drosophila affected the vineyards of Vouvray heavily; every single berry had to be inspected, and at least 25 percent of the harvest was discarded. The grapes from the many picking passes were meticulously sorted, pressed and fermented spontaneously, with malolactic fermentation occurring only in individual barrels. The wine was matured in used demi-muids. At Huet, a Moelleux usually carries 45 to 55 grams of residual sugar; here it is 74.

The fullness of the ripe, lightly sweet fruit meets tailor-made acidity and the dark minerality of the quartzite. The wine has grip and clear phenolics, alongside rich stone fruit, with tangy notes of kumquat, bitter orange, tobacco and stone.

Mature blue cheese, creamy foie gras parfait and desserts such as a classic tarte Tatin or aronia tartlets.

Gaston Huet converted the estate to biodynamic farming in the late 1980s; the entire domaine has been Demeter-certified since 1993. The cellars are the deep rock galleries beneath Le Mont; since 2020, cellar master Benjamin Joliveau has been responsible for the wines.