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Guide
to the Loire regions
Vouvray
Grower
Profiles
Domaine
Huet
Le
Clos du Bourg
This
page:
-
Overview
-
History
-
In
the vineyard
-
In
the cellar
-
The
lieu-dits
-
Wine
styles
-
Useful
links
-
Bibliography
Links:
Overview
Few
would argue that the reputation of Vouvray as an appellation producing
great wines lies with the influence of a single individual: Gaston Huet.
Not only was Gaston a legend within the region, but his tireless work
sitting on various national committees helped shape the future of French
wine culture.
History
Gaston
was born in Plauzat, a village
vigneron in the
Auvergne
on the 4th April 1910. He came from a modest family; his father Victor
originated from the Vienne, but ran the local café in Plauzat which is
where he met and married Anna-Constance Moreaux, Gaston’s mother, in
September 1908. Victor served his country in the Great War, but, a victim
of mustard gas in the trenches, he suffered respiratory problems, and on
the advice of his doctor, gave up the bistro in search of another career.
Le
manoir at Le Haut Lieu, where Gaston lived most of his life
Victor’s
own father was an Angevin, so it
was decided that the family would relocate to the Val de Loire. He was considering a future in forestry when by chance
the couple happened upon the appropriately named Le Haut Lieu, high up on
the plateau above Vouvray. It was Constance who fell in love with the low manoir
with its pretty shutters and its south facing views over the valley. So by
chance, Victor became a vigneron.
The Huets bought Le Haut Lieu with its seven hectares of land from
Monsieur and Madame Massé on the 27th November 1928. Wine had
been produced from the three hectares planted, although M. Massé had
other business interests and the manoir was kept as a maison
secondaire.
Gaston, now 18, was encouraged to attend college and went off to study
general agronomy, before returning to the domaine. During this time, the
wines produced between 1929, the first Huet vintage, and 1934 were made at
Le Haut Lieu. In August 1934, however, Gaston had married Germaine Foreau,
sister of André, whose family had also installed themselves as vignerons
in Vouvray in 1923. The couple’s first daughter, Jacqueline was born in
1938, the same year that Gaston was due to take over the running of the
domaine from his father. With a war impending, he found himself drafted
into the French army as a lieutenant instead. Before leaving for the
front, Gaston ensured that the wines from their first few vintages were
safely secreted in cellars along the
Loire
, away from the pilfering hands of the Nazis. With Gaston absent, it was
left to Victor to receive the occupying German soldiers when they came
calling, with still fermenting wine. They weren’t troubled much after
that. Victor, in spite of his legacy of time spent in the trenches lived
to be 88, dying in March 1971, outliving
Constance
by eleven years.
Back at the front, Gaston was captured, along with his division of 200
men, in
Calais
on the 24th May 1940 whilst trying to escape to the safety of
England
, and he had to spend the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp in
Silesia
. For those interested in learning more about Gaston’s exploits
-including the story of him organising a two week celebration of seminars
and exhibits on French viticultural life, and culminating with a wine
tasting for over 4,000 POWs – there are numerous references to him in
the book Wine & War by Don
and Petie Kladstrup.
Following the Liberation, he made his way back to Vouvray, arriving at the
domaine in February 1945 to discover unpruned vines and vineyards that had
not been ploughed (the German soldiers had commandeered all the horses)
and were covered in weeds. Gaston set about restoring the vineyards, but
on May 1st the warm spring weather disappeared and the region
was hit severely by one of the latest frosts ever recorded. Whilst many
producers lost their entire crop, Huet recorded a 50% loss. Thankfully,
the summer and autumn were excellent and the much reduced harvest went on
to produce one of the greatest vintages of the 20th
century.
 In
the years that followed, Gaston had two more children: a son, Jean, who
followed in his father’s footsteps and studied to be a winemaker, and a
daughter, Marie-Françoise. In 1947, the greatest vintage of the century,
Gaston was elected Mayor of Vouvray, a post he held for 46 years, until
retiring in another great year, 1989, a fact that Gaston never tired of
reminding people of. During his time as Mayor he also sat on various
committees including being the local representative of the C.I.V.T.L. (Comité
Interprofessionel des Vins de Touraine et
Loire
) where he was responsible for liaising with the I.N.A.O. He also held
the post of Conseiller Général
of the département of Indre-et-Loire and was instrumental in the early 1980s in ensuring
that the Paris-Bordeaux TGV line made an expensive detour under, rather
than through, the vineyards of Vouvray.
TGV
tunnel sous les vignes
 At
the same time, Gaston was enlarging Domaine Huet. From the original three
hectares Le Haut Lieu grew to become nine, and in 1953 he added Le Clos du
Bourg, considered by many to be the greatest single site within the
appellation, and this was followed, in 1957, by the addition of Le
Mont.
The marriage to Germaine had allowed Gaston to move his cellar from the
cramped conditions at Le Haut Lieu to the caves owned by the Foreau’s,
just down the lane at La Croix-Buisée. At the start of the 1900s, these
caves were occupied by Domaine Trézévent-Dunais, who operated under the
name of Les caves du Bon Accueil.
A postcard from the time, has the old sabot wearing vigneron
resting on a barrel, inscribed with the name Tête de Vouvray, a term synonymous at the time with wines coming
from there première côte.
These cellars, which are believed to date from the 15th
Century, were extended, and all Huet wines from around 1935 onwards were
vinified and aged here, although Gaston maintained his office, as well as
the family home, in the manoir
at Le Haut Lieu.
In 1968, the year of the
Paris
student riots, Jean, who had never enjoyed a good relationship with his
father, elected to leave Vouvray and live the life of a bohemian, tending
goats in the south of
France
. Today, he is a professional photographer and has little to do with the
estate.
 In
the same year, Marie-Françoise married local butcher’s son, Noël
Pinguet, a beer drinker by his own admission, until he fell in love with
the daughter of a vigneron. The
couple had met on a camping expedition in
Le Mans
, although at the time Noël was at university in
Paris
studying mathematics, whilst she was installed at the École des Beaux-Arts in
Tours
. To celebrate the marriage, Gaston commissioned a 62 flight staircase
carved in the rock to connect the cellar in La Croix-Buisée with the old
pressoir chamber at
Le
Mont
; the dépendence here was
destined to be their future home. The couple lived together in
Paris
from 1968 to 1970, as Noël had a position within an insurance company
working with computers, but the couple moved definitively to
Le
Mont
in 1971, just in time for the harvest, which Noël spent in the vines,
working as a vendangeur.
For the next five years Noël worked alongside his father-in-law, and
although having no formal winemaking training, was in a position to take
over the running of the cellar from the 1976 vintage. He states that he
has changed very little in the winemaking process since he joined,
although he did introduce a pneumatic bag-press in 1982, when the new
cellar in La Croix Buisée became operational, despite Gaston’s initial
reservations.
The
Pinguets
Gaston remained an integral part of the domaine, meeting guests and
arranging an annual reunion with fellow POWs from Oflag
IV D, where he had been interned during the war. In 1997 there was no
meeting, there being too few men left to constitute a gathering. Apart
from the five year tenure in the POW camp, Gaston lived for 74 years at Le
Haut Lieu; right up to the time of his death at the age of 92 in April
2002.
Domaine Huet post Gaston
 With
no natural family successor (the Pinguets have two daughters, Anne, who
arrived in 1971 and Carine, who was born in 1973, and with neither Jean or
Jacqueline showing any interest in the domaine), the property was offered
up for sale, and in 2003 Anthony Hwang, a Filipino born, New York based
businessman took a controlling share. He was adding Domaine Huet to his
existing winery interest of Domaine Kiralyudvar in Tokaji, an estate once
owned by the Hapsburg dynasty and supplier to the Royal Court of Hungary
since the 11th Century, which Hwang acquired in 1996 – see www.kiralyudvar.com.
Here, Noël has been drafted in as a consultant, flying to
Hungary
after the vintage in Vouvray to oversee the harvest. Although Noël claims
not to make the wines, he did play a significant part in the production of
the Kiralyudvar Sec in 2005, and the ‘hand of Pinguet’ can be tasted
in subsequent vintages - the wines sharing a similar structural profile to
those at Domaine Huet.
Anthony
Hwang
There
have been no changes in the day to day running of Domaine Huet under the
new ownership and Noël Pinguet continues to work the vines on biodynamic
principles, aided by the genial Jean-Bernard Berthomé, a local lad who
has worked closely with Noël since 1978, joining Huet directly from
college. Jean-Bernard has the title of chef
de cave, controlling the vineyards and takes a special interest in the
production Huet’s sparkling wines.
Following the sale in 2003, Noel now has a financial stake in the domaine
he has been responsible for running for the past thirty-odd years, with
Anthony Hwang owning the cellar, the 35 hectares of vineyards and all the
stock post 1976, excluding the reserves of the spectacular 1989 vintage,
which the family elected to keep. The manoir
where Gaston lived for most of his long life also remains under the
control of Jacqueline, although the house is sadly unoccupied, as is the
all but abandoned dépendence within Le Clos du Bourg.
Noël has a contact with Société Huet to work ‘part-time’ until his
70th birthday in 2015. Until then, he is grooming Benjamin
Joliveau, himself a Vouvrillon
and whose father owns Domaine Mirault, a producer of sparkling Vouvray,
and a friend of Noël’s. Benjamin started officially at Huet in May
2009, but has worked stages in Côte Rôtie and the 2009 harvest at Hoopenburg in the
Cape
.
Finally, a new tasting room in La Croix Buisée opened in spring 2009 to
receive visitors, and anyone who passes through the town en-route to the
Huet cellar will notice that the local college, which Gaston helped to
establish, has since been dedicated to his memory.
The lieu-dits
Domaine
Huet now farm a total of 35 hectares of vines. These are primarily split
among the three single vineyards of Le Haut Lieu, Le Clos du Bourg and Le
Mont, which account for a combined 23 hectares. The balance are individual
situated around Le Haut Lieu, of which 8.5ha are owned and the rest are
rented. The grapes from these non-specified sites will either find their
way into sparkling wine production, or depending on the quality of the
vintage, might also be absorbed into Le Haut Lieu.
Le
Haut Lieu
 The
late 16th Century closerie of Le Haut Lieu is situated on the
left hand side of the rue de la Croix-Buisée, with the vineyards sitting
at the road’s summit, off to the right. In the introduction to his 1823
novel Quentin Durward, Sir
Walter Scott mentions time spent at the ‘chateau of Hautlieu’ on the
banks of the Loire, although reading through the work, it becomes evident
that it is unlikely to have been the same place, unless Scott has used
some artistic license in embellishing the standing of the Marquis
of Hautlieu and his chateau.
From the initial three hectares of vineyards that were purchased by Victor
Huet, Le Haut Lieu has since been extended to nine hectares. As the name
suggests, the house and the vineyards are situated on a plateau with a
slight south facing gradient at one of the highest points of the
appellation.
 The Le Haut Lieu itself consists of 3 to 4 metres of heavy clay soil mixed
with chalk, known locally as aubuis,
which lies over a bed of limestone. It is the limestone subsoil that
proves to be the constant link between the three vineyards owned by Huet,
and it is the vines proximity to the porous, yellow tuffeau
that is responsible for the overriding style of wines produced from each
of the sites. This friable rock is from the Turonian Age and was laid down
during the Cretaceous Period, which dates them at between 67 and 137
million years. The tuffeau is
made up of fragments of bryozoa,
sea creatures that lived in vast numbers in tropical oceans, which when
mixed with fragments of mica and grains of sand then compacted, gives
notable physical and chemical properties to the soil, whilst the chalky,
brittle quality makes it ideal for excavation. This is the reason why
Vouvray is made up of a labyrinth of caves and troglodyte dwellings.
Of the three sites, Le Haut Lieu tends to offer the most precocious of
wines, regardless of their style or sweetness, although this should be
seen a relative statement, given that they are still capable of lasting
many decades.
Le
Clos du Bourg
 Also
referred to locally as Chatellenie
du Bouchet or Le Clos du Bouchet,
Le Clos du Bourg is a 6 hectare vineyard and a true clos, being surrounded by an ancient stone wall. It is acknowledged
as the oldest cru in the
appellation, recorded as belonging to the Collégiale de Saint-Martin de
Tours as long ago as the eighth century.
The vineyard sits on the first coteaux
above the town, or le bourg, and
directly behind the large church. The soil here is less than one metre
deep, allowing the vines easy access to the tuffeau
directly below. Le Clos de Bourg is perhaps recognised as the most
promising source for moëlleux,
from grapes that have been affected either by botrytis or passerillage.
Prior
to Gaston acquiring the vineyard in August 1953, it was owned by Russian
born Charles Vavasseur, distinguished, along with Gaston, as a
longstanding Mayor of Vouvray. In
addition to Le Clos du Bourg, Vavasseur also owned Domaine des Biduadières
and Domaine de l’Auberdière in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with a
price list issued by Domaine des Biduadières from the first decade of the
1990s offering the 1904 and 1906 vintages of Le Clos du Bourg, each for a
couple of Francs a bottle.
Le
Mont
Recognised
since the 15th Century as being one of the most distinguished
sites in the appellation,
Le
Mont
was also known as Perruches, a local name for the greenish tinged clay soils flecked
with perrons, fist-sized pebbles
of flint. This eight hectare vineyard is situated below Le Haut Lieu, and
abuts the vineyards of Philippe Foreau.
As
with Le Clos du Bourg, it is positioned on the first coteaux,
around two kilometres further to the east, although top soil here is more
profound and the vines need to delve deeper to access the honeycomb
coloured tuffeau.
Le
Mont
is usually the last vineyard to be picked, regardless of the style of wine
produced; its retarded ripening is reflected in the maturation of the
wines as they are usually the last to open up, but are generally very long
lived.
Le Mont was purchased by Gaston in November 1957 from the Saumur based
sparkling wine producer, Ackerman-Laurance, who had previously sold the
wine under the lieu-dit name of
‘Clos le Mont’, with the 1945, 1946 and 1947 all listed by London
based wine merchants, Saccone & Speed, in their 1951 catalogue, priced
at 16 shillings and sixpence (one shilling more than Château Leoville
Lescases 1947).
At the foot of the vineyard is a semi-troglodyte house, which is the home
of the Pinguets. Cut into the honey-coloured rock at the back are the old
cellars where the wines would have once been matured. To the side is an
old cave with two ancient wooden presses, last used in 1935. It is from
here that one takes the 62 stairs cut in the rock in 1968 to access the
main Huet cellar. At some point in time,
Le
Mont
was also home to the gendarmes, and within one cellar in the house there
is an old holding cell. The house was all but derelict when it was
acquired by Gaston. In what is now Marie-Françoise Pinguet’s studio
where she paints the pictures that adorn the tasting room walls, there
once stood another, smaller wine press. Last used in 1978, it crushed red
grapes for wine destined to be drunk by the vendangeurs; The Pinguet’s new kitchen was once the cellar floor.
Le
Vodanis
In
December 2000 the domaine rented a further vineyard, Le Vodanis, a five
hectare parcel of old vines in neighbouring Rochecorbon belonging to François
Gilet. There was an option to buy the parcel and Noël had already begun
to convert the vines to biodynamic farming methods. When Domaine Huet was
sold in 2003, it was decided to give up the lease and concentrate efforts
on the existing vineyard holdings.
In the vineyard
 Over
half of the current vineyards were planted between the 1950s and the
1970s, and the general philosophy is to replace individual ceps rather than to systematically grub up whole parcels, so younger
vines of between one and ten years account for around 15% of the total.
The vendange at Domaine Huet is
all performed by hand, which is unusual in an environment where around 90%
of the appellation is harvested by machine.
Right:
new, ungrafted vines planted on the south faciing première côteaux in Le
Mont.
In the 1970s it would have been considered unusual for the harvest to
begin before the 10th October and then it could be expected to
last for a month. More recently, dates have been creeping steadily
forward, the earliest, like everywhere else in
France
, was following the canicule of
2003 when the picking started on the 14th September. The last
time the vintage extended into November was in 1989, and even then it was
a conscious decision due to the exceptionally favourable conditions,
rather than out of necessity. If anyone needed proof that global warming
exists, they simply need to analyse the average harvest dates in Vouvray
over the past twenty five years to see a clear trend.
Biodynamics
Ten
years after taking control of Domaine Huet, and after a chance meeting
with Jacques Puisais, oenologue,
philosopher, founder of l’Institut
du Goût and long time resident of Chinon, Noël first turned his
attentions to biodynamic farming methods. He started experimentally,
selecting a single hectare within Le Clos du Bourg during 1986 to conduct
trials, before deciding to embark on a full conversion from 1988.
Experimental wines produced in Le Clos du Bourg in 1989 still exist,
although given the exceptional conditions of the vintage, is would be
invidious to argue that the biodynamic cuvée is any better than the temoin
(reference) example; the two wines in question are, after all, of Cuvée
Constance quality. Noël bottled 300 bottles of each in order to examine
their evolution over time.
To
question the practice of biodynamic farming is beyond the remit of this
profile, but needless to say Noël follows the guiding principles, using
three essential preparations. The first, compost manure, is applied
directly to the soil (to aid the decomposition of existing organic
matter): horn manure, also known as ‘Preparation 500’ which is said to
stimulate root growth and improves absorption of nutrients, and
‘Preparation 501’, which involves ‘dynamising’ a mix of trace
minerals, primarily silica (quartz) with water for one hour before being
sprayed on the leaves of the vine at sunrise. The principle here being
that the amount of light generated by the quartz will be better
assimilated by the plant. These three ‘fundamental medicines’ are
supplemented, when necessary, by Bordeaux Mixture, to help prevent
outbreaks of mildew (seen as recently as 2008) and herbal tisanes
- infusions using nettles, horsetail and valerian - which help to combat
oidium. It is also common to see pheromone traps at the end of the rows of
vines; these are designed to attract male moths and act as an early
warning system for identifying prolific amounts of cochyllis
and eudemis.
Even for an ex-mathematician capable of analysing the techniques applied,
Noël would be the first to admit that he doesn’t fully understand the
logic and reasoning around some of the treatments he is expected to
practice. But regardless of the lack of complete comprehension, he is
convinced that the methods work, and he would never consider abandoning
them. Twenty years on, he is convinced that his wines show greater
minerality and nuance, whilst maintaining average yields of 35hl/ha, a
return he would consider consistent with ‘conventional’ farming.
The domaine has been certified biodynamic with Demeter since the 1990
vintage, although has been in re-conversion since the 2008 vintage when a
decision was made to spray after the heavy rain in May that year. The
domaine is set to be certified again from the 2011 harvest.
In the cellar
As
previously mentioned, between 1929 and 1934, the wines of Domaine Huet
were made at Le Haut Lieu, but with Gaston’s marriage to Germaine Foreau
came access to larger cellars en-bas.
The current cellar was erected in 1982 and is attached to a network of
galleries that run off into the hillside, deep below Le
Mont.
 There are several key factors which account for Vouvray yielding some of
the world’s longest lived wines, the most important of which is the cépage. Chenin has possibly the highest levels of malic acid of any
other mainstream variety. This, coupled with the appellation’s northerly
location, means that the malic acid present within the grape is not
respired into the softer tartaric acid on the vine during ripening.
Neither is it replaced by softer lactic acidity through secondary
fermentation. The wines are fermented in the cold and humid conditions of
the subterranean cellars using indigenous yeasts, partly in a battery of
tanks, squeezed into crevices within the caves, or in older demi-muids
with temperatures controlled via a bespoke refrigeration system installed
by Noël in 2005 and 2006.
The malo-lactic fermentation is never encouraged at Domaine Huet, and in
most cases is impossible to conduct as the pH levels are normally below
the 2.9 required for this to occur. Since 1971, Noël has only twice seen
cuvées (partly) undergo the second fermentation; in 2003 and 2008.
The wines age worthiness is then compounded by early bottling, in either
March or April following the vintage, so that all the maturation occurs
slowly in bottle. The wines stored at the domaine are preserved in the tuffeau
caves, where temperature is a constant 12 degrees centigrade humidity
levels are high - the perfect conditions to ensure a long life. Even in a
moderate vintage, these wines are capable of retaining their character for
a decade or more. In the resulting wines, the influence of the malic
acidity remains constant regardless of the type of wine being produced,
which is why even the sweeter examples have a succulent, juicy acidity to
help balance out any residual sugar.
Wine
Styles
Unlike
in most other regions of the world, it is solely the climate that dictates
the overall style of wine that will be produced from any given vintage. It
is therefore not unusual to find wines bone dry one year, but rich and
sweet the next.
Vouvray
Mousseux and Pétillant
 Sparkling
wine is important business in Vouvray with around 55% of the grapes grown
within the appellation committed to its production (forty years ago it was
more like 70%, and at Huet towards the end of the 1970s it accounted for
half of their crop). The original idea to create sparkling wines came from
Charles Vavasseur during the First World War when
Champagne
was in short supply, although the fashion for sparkling Vouvray only
really began around the start of the 1950s, just at a time when demand for
sweet wines was beginning to diminish. The high acidity required to make
quality sparkling wines perfectly suits the profile of Chenin, and as a
result a highly successful business developed around its manufacture.
There are two distinct styles of bottle fermented Vouvray, and at Huet
both are produced. The classic and most widely available within the
appellation is mousseux, which
at around 5.5kg of pressure conforms to that of traditional
Champagne
. The creation of pétillant,
the alternative method, is attributed to Maison Brédif in the 1920s, and
demands a more fastidious approach to its production. At between 2.5 and
3.00kg of pressure, it requires a higher quality of base wine and greater
skill in its manufacture, especially at the moment it is disgorged. Pétillant
is certainly more vinous, and should probably be thought of more as a
table wine than anything celebratory. Although the two styles are produced
in equal proportion, it is generally the better growers, or at least those
with the right technology, who attempt to make pétillant
as there is little room to hide any imperfection in the raw material. For
Noël and Jean-Bernard, the production of pétillant
is a challenge, but it also offers a greater reward as they believe this
style is capable of displaying a true sense of origin and best exhibits
the varietal quality of Chenin, both of which are easily lost as soon as
the internal pressure moves towards a fuller mousse. This, of course, is
all open to debate, and interestingly, Philippe Foreau, who is considered
the other reference producer for sparkling wine in the appellation, elects
not to produce any pétillant at
all.
Levels of dosage are generally
consistent with Champagne, although as the wines receive extended ageing on their secondary lees,
there is less reliance on sweetness to replace built-in complexity. Huet
generally work on dosage levels
of around 10 grams per litre, with the liqueur
d’expédition often originating from decanted bottles of an older
vintage of moëlleux.
It will generally be a lesser year or a copious harvest that provides the
base wine for conversion into fines
bulles (the recently coined term for
Loire
sparklers), when acidity levels are likely to be at their highest. Since
1999, Huet have produced sparkling wine in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 and
(potentially) 2007. The legal minimum for ageing sur
latte is nine months, although typically the domaine will only
consider releasing vintage pétillant
or mousseux after the wines
have spent at least four years on their lees. The current release (in
2009) is from the 2001 vintage, and this is due to be succeeded by the
release of the 2005 vintage in 2010.
As an historical footnote, Huet, until 1986, had a parcel of Grolleau
planted within Le Haut Lieu which was given over to the production of
Touraine Mousseux Rosé. The wine had a strong following in
Nantes
and
Lille
, where Gaston himself would set off and set up stall at the annual
agricultural shows. The tradition continues, albeit from Gamay and
Grolleau bought in from Christian Blot; the resulting wine is sold through
L’Echansonne, the négociant
arm of Domaine Huet’s business.
Sec
and Demi-Sec
Traditionally,
the drier styles, known as sec
have always had around 4 or 5 grams of residual sugar in order to rein in
the striking acidity. More recently though (and see this as more evidence
of global warming) the levels of residual sugar have been gradually
rising, to the point that many of the sec
produced so far this decade have between 5 and 15 grams per litre, pushing
them firmly towards demi-sec in
style these are unofficially
referred to as sec-tendre. One
should not be too concerned over the rise in sugar levels, as ultimately
the quality rests with the overall balance of the wine.
It is normal in most vintages to produce a demi-sec,
literally meaning half-dry. This much maligned category is recognised by
the purists as the defining style of the appellation. On average they will
have about 17 grams per litre of residual sugar (although like with sec,
these tend to be rising), but retain perfect poise and balance due to the
acidity. Those who follow Vouvray on a superficial level tend only to get
excited by the quality of the great sweet wine vintages, such as 1945,
1947, 1989 and 1990. Whilst these are indeed spectacular, one has to
understand that these trophy wines are often only to be broached at
celebratory dinners, whilst the excellent examples of Sec
and Demi-Sec can be opened on a more regular basis, especially when
matched with appropriate savoury dishes.
Moëlleux
and Moëlleux Première Trie
For
Noël Pinguet, the defining, classic Moëlleux
(literally meaning ‘full of marrow’, and refering more to the
textural quality than to the sweetness) will have approximately 30 grams
of residual sugar. The elevated classification of Première
Trie doesn’t automatically mean that these grapes have been
harvested on the first passage as the name might suggest, but rather that
they are selected on any one of the three separate visits to the vineyard
when bunches affected either by botrytis or dried by wind and sun are
selected, often grape by grape. In 2005, it happened that the only
botrytis to appear this vintage was at the start of harvest, and in this
instance the grapes were the first to be picked, the result being a rare
release of Cuvée Constance.
Cuvée
Constance
This
is an occasional release, made when the conditions allow, named in homage
to Gaston Huet’s mother. The criterion for release is that the wine is
made from botrytis affected berries and since the maiden vintage in 1989
it has been released in 1993 (which was subsequently withdrawn and
re-released as Le Haut Lieu Moëlleux 1ere Trie), 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003,
2005 and 2009.
Typically,
all the wines are harvested at between 12 and 13% alcohol, with Noël
selecting the picking dates and fermenting the wines specifically to
remain within this range; anything either side of this would be considered
exceptional. Similarly, with total acidity the range is between 5.5 and
6.5 g/l, regardless of the style of wine being produced.
As a result of the diverse climatic influences of any given year, Vouvray
remains one of the world’s most versatile, if unpredictable, white wine
appellations. Winemakers who might take a more systematic approach to
ultimately fail to express the nuance presented to the vigneron
by the conditions during the season. At Domaine Huet, it is true to say
that immediately prior to the harvest Noël doesn’t necessarily know the
type of wines he will make that year. The quantity may have already been
determined by way of a late frost, uneven flowering or hail during the
summer, but the decisions as to the style will be made just a few days
before, or in some cases after, the picking commences.
Domaine Huet
L’Echansonne
11/13 rue de la Croix Buisée
T: + 33 2 47 52 78 87
F: + 33 2 47 52 66 74
contact@huet-echansonne.com
www.huet-echansonne.com
Le
Mont
Useful
Links
www.vouvray-aoc.fr
- Syndicat des Vignerons site
http://www.tours-online.com/vouvray/
http://www.chantepleure-vouvray.confreries.org/index.html
- Les Chevaliers de la Chantpleure
Bibliography
FRENCH LANGUAGE:
Les Vins du Val de Loire, Suzanne Blanchet (Jema 1982)
Vignes et Vins de France, Réné Poulain/Louis Jacquelin (Flammarion 1960)
Une Promesse de Vin, Georges Bardawil (Minerva 2007)
Memoire en Images Le Vouvray de Sainte-Radegonde à Noizay, Claude Béal
(Alan Sutton 2000)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE:
Vintage Timecharts, Jancis Robinson (Mitchell Beazley 1989)
The Great Wine Book, Jancis Robinson (Sidgwick and Jackson 1982)
Terroir, James E Wilson (Mitchell Beazley 1998)
The Wines of the Loire, Alsace and Champagne, Hubrecht Duijker (1981)
The Vine, Clive Coates MW (2003)
The Wines and Domaines of France, Clive Coates MW (Cassell & Co 2000)
A Wine and Food Guide to the Loire, Jacqueline Friedrich (Mitchell Beazley
1996)
Wine & War, Don & Petie Kladstrup (Coronet 2001)
Vintage Wine, Michael Broadbent MW (Websters 2002)
Quentin Durward, Sir Walter Scott (Adam and Charles Back 1863)
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