Nine Decades of Domaine Huet

with Richard Kelly MW – Friday 16 November 2007

Yes really; nine whole decades spanning the 20^th century. Richard Kelley knows a thing or two about this Loire domaine, having tasted everything in the Huet family’s extensive cellars, and he treated us to a truly remarkable experience.

He introduced the tasting by telling us something of the history of the Huet family, who ran the domain until 2003. Its founder Gaston Huet took on the land from his father just before the outbreak of World War II, was captured at Calais, walked back from a Silesian prisoner of war camp after the war to a devastated cellar and vineyard, yet then made the legendary 1947 (which of course we tasted). That same year he became Mayor of Vouvray – a post he held until 1989, when, after yet another miraculous year in the vineyard, he retired.

In Vouvray the style of the wine – sec, demi-sec, moelleux – is dictated by the weather and neither Gaston Huet or his son-in-law Noel Pinguet who succeeded him, decide until a few weeks before the harvest what style their chenin blanc grapes will produce that year. But regardless of the style, the characteristic Vouvray bouquet of mushrooms, quince, apples or pears and roasted hazelnuts (plus a spot of wet wool) and that blend of honeyed sweetness and searing acidity marked all the wines we tasted.

The magnums of Vouvray Pétillant Brut 2000 that we started with were clean and fresh with distinct flavours of yeast and apples. Then the only sec wine – Le Haut Lieu from 1995, which would go wonderfully with the local pork dishes. In fact Richard recommended a stop off at Hardouin’s delicatessen for their rillettes and rillons next time any of us are in Vouvray… He paired the sec with the 1994 demi-sec; a far deeper gold with an intensely rich bouquet.

The two moelleux wines that followed – from 1989 and 1990 – were from different sites. The 1989 was from Le Haut Lieu, the original holding of the Huet family, and the 1990 from Le Clos du Bourg where the topsoil layer over the underlying tufa is thinner and the wines tend to be sweeter. Sugar levels on these wines range from around 100 grams to 220-250 grams in exceptional years. Wines of such sweetness take years to develop and once moved out of the cellar may start to ferment again, as happened with some 1924 wines which Richard took to a tasting in South Africa.

There followed three demi-sec wines from 1969, 1971 and 1988. For most of us the 1971 seemed to be the favourite. Its truffle and quince nose and wonderful balance marked it out from the more muted 1989 and the earthier bouquet of the 1969. But the 1989, Richard assured us, would almost certainly evolve towards the complexity and clarity of the 1971.

The last four wines – all moelleux – were from 1959, 1947, 1933 and 1924. The 1947 had the deepest colour and intensity; the 1959 more golden in colour and with a nutty, savoury bouquet. The 1933 had less brightness of flavour than the 1947 and felt softer, less well-defined. The 1924 (only 9.6% of alcohol versus 11.5% for the rest of this flight) had a slight petillance and a whiff of the tufa cellars that run under Vouvray. 1921 was probably the best year of the 1920s, and often fetch a premium in the auction room driven by association with the fabulous 1921 Chateau Yquem.

This was the tasting of a lifetime. Richard – a self-confessed addict whose desert island wine would be a Huet Vouvray – was an enthusiastic and inspiring guide. In London a week or so ago, the price of a similar tasting was £100. For us it was £30 – for £3,000 worth of wine and a priceless experience.

A review by Sophie Mack Smith & Graham Harding