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Mixed Case Vouvray Moelleux, Domaine Huët 1989

Tasting Notes

***Le Mont 1er Trie - 99 points***
Luminous golden-yellow in color, the ginger-flavored 1989 Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux Première Trie shows the subtle and herbal-flavored, coolish and aristocratic bouquet typical for this lieu-dit, which is adjacent to the Loire with its green-tinged marl and silex soils. Very clear and delicate yet intense and concentrated fruit aromas, along with chamomile and mineral flavors on the nose, migrate to an extremely finesse-full and highly elegant palate with sweet peach aromas and a great and intense, stimulatingly pure, precise and salty but most of all endless finish. This Le Mont seems terribly sweet but isn't technically spoken: 79 grams per liter is 13 grams less than in the Haut-Lieu 1ere Trie and just a third of the Clos du Bourg 1ere Trie Essai. However, there is no fat or boldness here since the sugar is lapped around from the vivacious acidity and the crystalline minerality of this straight, filigreed yet firm and absolutely delicious wine that seems almost eternal in its vitality and energy. A gothic cathedral built on Chenin Blanc. According to Noël Pinguet there was no botrytis in 1989: "The berries were absolutely healthy when they dried on the vines in a vintage that is the best I have ever made and stays side by side with the legendary 1947." 2020-2075

***Le Clos du Bourg 1er Trie - 97 points***
The intensely golden colored 1989 Vouvray Clos du Bourg Moelleux Première Trie offers a clear, deep, rich, spicy and intense stone fruit flavor intermixed with coolish earthy/mineral and some nutty flavors. Very fruit-intense, elegant and really sappy on the palate, with less concentration compared to the corresponding Le Mont but with a mineral and tannic tension, this is a full-bodied, dense and persistent Chenin that is still extremely young but should age well for for decades. According to Noël Pinguet there was no botrytis in 1989: "The berries were absolutely healthy when they dried on the vines in a vintage that is the best I have ever made and stays side by side with the legendary 1947." 2015-2090

***Le Haut Lieu 1er Trie - 98 points***
From a "quintessential Chenin Blanc year" (Michael Broadbent), the luminously orange-golden 1989 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux Première Trie displays a beautifully clear and intense yet not loud, nobly elegant and perfectly balanced raisin fruit with precise aromas of dried apricots and ripe peaches intertwined with subtly spicy, mineral and chalky notes on the nose. Sweet and superbly harmonious on the highly elegant, silky textured and well concentrated palate, this full-bodied, gorgeously fruit-concentrated and animated Chenin from the first picking of dried berries has a perfect, sensual flow and reveals an incredible generosity, finesse and delicacy. This is a gorgeously balanced sweet wine with an intriguing concentration of fruit and finesse. Great to drink on its own for a lifetime or with foie gras or lobster. According to Noël Pinguet, there was no botrytis in 1989, "the berries were dried on the vines in a vintage that is the best I have ever made and stands alongside with 1947." 2015-2090

97/99
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate, November 2015
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.