Vouvray Le Haut Lieu Moelleux 1ère Trie, Domaine Huët 1997

I had two bottles of the 20-year-old 1997 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux Première Trie and they were pretty different, as were the Le Mont Moelleux Première Tries from the same tasting. The first Haut-Lieu I opened displayed an intense and luminescent golden-orange color followed by an intense, concentrated bouquet with dark caramel, white nougat, burnt milk and vegetal aromas (legumes). Very sweet but also salty, finessed and vibrantly fresh on the palate, this is a remarkably lithe but intense, tight and complex Haut-Lieu with great tension, finesse and complexity on the powerful, herbal (marjoram), slightly bitter and astringent finish.