Clos du Bourg demi-sec 2017

An off-dry Chenin Blanc that brings together the minerality of its stony site with a generous texture. The acidity of the 2017 vintage is bright and never overbearing, carrying the residual sweetness and keeping the wine in tension. 13.5% vol.

The Clos du Bourg lies on the Première Côte in Vouvray. Limestone and clay form its foundation, the poorest and stoniest soils on the Domaine Huet estate. Gaston Huet secured the site in 1963 and considered it the greatest vineyard in all of Vouvray.

Chenin Blanc, known in Vouvray as the grape of moonlight. Gaston Huet introduced biodynamics in the late 1980s, and the estate has been Demeter-certified since 1993. The wine is aged in neutral vessels in the deep rock-cut cellars, which serve as a naturally temperature-stable cellar. Since 2020, cellar master Benjamin Joliveau, a Vouvray native, has been responsible for the wines.

On the nose, apple and apple must, along with Virginia tobacco, smoke, crushed stone, wax and wet wool; a reductive flinty note verging on gunpowder when young, which fades quickly with air. On the palate, juicy stone fruit, sweetness on the tip of the tongue, spice across the mid-palate, underscored by a layer of silky tannin.

Veal sweetbreads with morels and asparagus, skate wing with capers and pointed cabbage, and to finish, pear and almond tart.

Depending on the vintage, a single vineyard can yield up to four bottlings: Sec, Demi-Sec, Moelleux, and in exceptional years, Moelleux 1ère Trie. Whether botrytis develops is decided by the weather, not the winemaker. The 2017 demi-sec is already a pleasure to drink now and will continue to evolve for a long time to come.