The Wines of Loire
Timed Online Auction, 1 - 8 May 2023
Session 1
About the SessionThe Loire Valley is a large region that follows the longest river of France. The Loire is an exceptional place to find lean, racy, white wines, including those of Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadet. Red varieties include Cabernet Franc, Gamay and Cot (Malbec), which produces herbaceous, rustic reds.
About this Item
Known for their elegant, flinty style, the domaine's wines are amongst the longest lasting white wines in the world! Produced from 3 vineyards in varying degrees of sweetness depending on the vintage, the hallmark of Huet’s wines is their unmistakable freshness and natural acidity. Due to its extremely shallow, stony soils, Clos du Bourg often synthesizes Le Mont’s intense minerality with Le Haut-Lieu’s generous texture.
The lot consists of 1 of each of the following Domaine Huet wines:
Le Clos du Bourg Demi Sec 2001 (1 x 750ml)
Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec 2007 (1 x 750ml)
Pétillant Brut Réserve 2009 (1 x 750ml)
Le Haut-Lieu Sec 2011 (1 x 750ml)
Le Mont Demi-Sec 2011 (1 x 750ml)
Le Mont Sec 2011 (1 x 750ml)
Le Mont Sec 2015 (1 x 750ml)
Provenance
Restaurant Mosaic
Critics Ratings
Le Clos du Bourg Demi Sec 2001
'The Clos du Bourg Vouvray Demi-Sec is pale golden in colour and the nose is dominated by orchard fruits, acacia and toast. The textural palate is full and intense with flavours of rhubarb compote, red fruits and exotic spices. Rounded, mineral and exquisite complexity show effortless power. Delicious now, but it will age gracefully for many a year.' - hic-winemerchants.com
'The 2001 Clos du Bourg Demi-Sec is a wonderful expression of this marvellous vineyard and how beautifully these wines can age. Displaying a brilliantly warm and spicy aroma, the palate by contrast delivers crisp, lean citrus peel, preserved lemon, ginger and star anise. There is a lovely sweetness but it is barely noticeable as the acidity brilliantly balances the flavours leading to a thrilling, vibrant finish complete with crushed mineral notes, beeswax, quince and fresh summer florals. Classic Vouvray Demi-Sec. This is indisputably a must-have wine.' - Armitwines.com
Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec 2007
‘More off-dry than medium sweet, this is a fabulously concentrated wine. It has honey, spice, lemon and sweet pear flavors, which give it a bright, vivid character in its youth. Expect it to close up for 3–4 years, before emerging again as a wine with elegance, balance and complexity.’ – Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, 95/100 (Sep 2009)
‘Just awakening, this sports heather, ginger, cardamom, green fig, toasted almond and persimmon notes backed by hints of dried nectarine and apricot on the slightly taut finish. Decant or hold a bit longer. Best from 2014 through 2022.’ – James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, 92/100 (Jun 2013)
‘Closed, apples, floral nose. Broader on the palate, with a taste that expands in the mouth: spooky biodynamics or just good winemaking? Either way, it’s a very pleasurable experience with subtlety, grace but lots of core fruit too.’ – Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com, 16.5/20 (Mar 2010)
Pétillant Brut Réserve 2009
‘The golden-yellow colored 2009 Vouvray Pétillant Brut Réserve offers a beautifully pure, deep, rich, intense and refreshing mineral bouquet of perfectly ripe (tropical) fruits and chalky flavors. Full-bodied, highly complex and very long, this is a gorgeous sparkling wine from Vouvray. Dry, firmly structured, mouth-filling and finesse-full, with great elegance and a delicate mousse, the 2009 has a persistently intense and fruity finish with a stimulatingly salinity and grip in the aftertaste. This Réserve should have an excellent aging potential.’ – Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate, 93/100 (Oct 2016)
‘More creamy and rich than the 2010. Full body, complex yeasty notes from the autolysis. Also has charming steely character and superb pristine green apple fruit. This isn't just as good as champagne, it's up there with the top prestige brands.’ – Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com, 18/20 (Jun 2017)
‘The 2009 Vouvray Pétillant Réserve is dry and bracing. A wine of substance and power, the 2009 has a lot to offer. Today, I especially admire its breadth. Yellow orchard fruits, plum, dried flowers and chamomile abound, but the 2009 remains a wine endowed with tremendous palate presence. It is very much a wine for the dinner table.’ - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 93/100 (Sep 2020)
Le Haut-Lieu Sec 2011
‘Ripe and bracing, with nectarine, peach and star fruit notes propelled by lively acidity and backed by ginger and heather accents on the finish. Drink now through 2018.’ – James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, 90/100 (May 2013)
Le Mont Demi-Sec 2011
Gentle aromas of pineapple, cinnamon and apricot abound in this attractive and floral wine. Juicy fresh citrus fruits on the palate are offset by a delicious sweetness that adds body and energy alongside its bright acidity. Elegant and pure, the beautiful fruit character leads to a broad flower-petal and pear finish. This is a complex and evolving wine that is pleasingly balanced and harmonious displaying a quintessentially expressive style.' - laywheeler.com
The Mont, located on the first Vouvrillonne hill directly above our cellars, has a shallow soil of green clay resting on the limestone rock through which the roots of the vine cross. The balance between sugar and acidity of Demi-secs du Mont is synonymous with indulgence. The minerality specific to this terroir brings a lot of freshness to this Demi-sec. Le Mont Terroir: stony, green clay and flint stones Average age of the vines: 40 years. - Producer notes.
Le Mont Sec 2011
"The 2011 Le Mont Sec from Domaine Huët is also a bit gently structured particularly by the very high standards of this estate- but, it is a very tasty wine that shows just a bit more mid-palate intensity than the very good Le Haut Lieu Sec from this vintage. The nose is a lovely blend of apple, quince, dried flowers, a touch of lanolin, gentle notes of honey and chalky soil tones and a nice dollop of orange peel in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and wide open for business, with good focus and nascent complexity, very respectable depth at the core, nice framing acids and a long, bright and classy finish. Again, the late season rains of 2011 have taken away just a bit of the concentration here, but the wine is drinking well out of the blocks and should age nicely for at least the next dozen years. In the context of the vintage, it is a very successful wine. 2013-2025+." - 90/100, John Gilman - View from the Cellar
'Gentle aromas of pineapple, cinnamon and apricot abound in this attractive and floral wine. Juicy fresh citrus fruits on the palate are offset by a delicious sweetness that adds body and energy alongside its bright acidity. Elegant and pure, the beautiful fruit character leads to a broad flower-petal and pear finish. This is a complex and evolving wine that is pleasingly balanced and harmonious displaying a quintessentially expressive style.' - Laywheeler.com
Le Mont Sec 2015
‘The 2015 Vouvray le Mont Sec is pure, precise and very flinty on the nose, which reveals a concentrated and elegant fruit with lemon and crushed stone flavors. Full-bodied, pure and piquant, with a tight and mineral structure, as well as a very persistent finish, this is a highly complex yet finesse-full Chenin with a great aging potential. I'd love to drink the 2015 today, although I know it will become much more complex over the years. The finish is enormously long and reveals fine tannins.’ – Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate, 95/100 (Oct 2016)
‘A light echo of baked apple leads off, followed by quince, powdered ginger and verbena notes at the core. The long, minerally finish features rippling acidity. Still tight, so let this unwind in the cellar. Best from 2017 through 2027. 200 cases imported.’ – James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, 93/100 (Sep 2016)