Clos du Bourg Moelleux 1ère Trie 2016

A nobly sweet Chenin Blanc that doesn't put its sweetness on display but keeps it in tension. The nose is precisely differentiated: honeycomb and beeswax form the spicy peak, beneath which lie dried pears, apple rings, candied orange peel and candied lemon peel, along with roasted salted nuts, Montélimar nougat, anise, saffron and a leaf of pale tobacco.

The Clos du Bourg lies on the Première Côte in Vouvray; Gaston Huet secured the site in 1963. Its lean, stony soils of limestone and clay bring together minerality and texture. Gaston Huet considered it Vouvray's greatest vineyard.

Pure Chenin Blanc. Whether noble rot develops is decided by the weather, not the winemaker: only in exceptional years does Domaine Huet harvest a Moelleux 1ère Trie, a selective hand-picking of botrytised grapes. In 2016, the Moelleux remained largely free of botrytis; here, however, the influence of noble rot is clearly present. Ageing takes place in neutral vessels in the estate's deep rock-cut cellars, at constant temperature. 12.0% vol.

The entry opens with gripping phenolics, binding sweet fruit and viscosity to ripe, polished tannins. Bergamot mirrors the aromatics of the nose, the acidity unfolds broadly and piquantly, while gentle spice notes of allspice and clove carry the long finish.

Dark walnut bread with blue cheese and spiced apricot chutney, fresh goat's cheese pralines with salted walnut caramel, allspice brittle and bitter leaf salads, or poultry liver pâté with pistachios and quince chutney.

Gaston Huet introduced biodynamics as early as the late 1980s, and since 1993 Domaine Huet has been fully Demeter-certified. Each site can yield up to four different bottlings depending on the vintage; the 1ère Trie sits at the top of that scale.