Clos du Bourg Moelleux 1ère Trie 2018

A nobly sweet Vouvray that, despite its sweetness, feels invigorating. Acidity, fine tannin and saline nuances lend precision, and it never comes across as heavy. The 2018 is still at the very beginning of its evolution.

Clos du Bourg is one of France's oldest Grand Cru parcels: shallow clay soil over limestone bedrock. The south-facing slope captures the sunlight crucial to ripening Chenin Blanc, while the nearby Loire provides the vines with morning dew. Gaston Huet secured the site in 1963 and considered it Vouvray's greatest vineyard: some of the poorest, stoniest soils, combining minerality and texture.

100% Chenin Blanc, known in Vouvray as the grape of moonlight. Domaine Huet has farmed biodynamically since the late 1980s and has been Demeter-certified since 1993. Whether botrytis develops is decided by the weather, not the winemaker; only in exceptional years does a single parcel yield the Moelleux 1ère Trie. The wine is aged in deep rock-cut cellars at a constant temperature, in neutral vessels. Benjamin Joliveau, a Vouvray native, has been responsible for the wines since 2020. 12.5% vol.

On the nose, a dense minerality appears first, making the wine seem still somewhat closed. With air come quince, quince jelly, orange and orange zest, baked apple, acacia honey and caramel, along with cinnamon, white chocolate, fresh ginger, acacia and elderflower. It glides silky and sweet across the tongue, the acidity lending a refreshing edge, joined by freshly cooked apple compote.

Pan-fried blood sausage with glazed apple wedges on potato rösti. For dessert, mille-feuille of forest berries and vanilla cream or tarte Tatin with vanilla ice cream.

If drinking it now, decant it, serve it not too cold, and use a larger glass.