Domaine Huet - Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec (France)

Loire valley - Chenin Blanc

Delivers a beautiful display of purity and grace, with creamed Jonagold apple, star fruit, white peach and chamomile notes flowing seamlessly, backed by wet stone and fresh verbena accents. Subtle but persistent energy ripples through the very long finish. Drink now through 2035. 2,000 cases made

Tasting Note:成熟的紅蘋果，薑糖，杏仁，楊桃,白桃,洋甘菊，濕石塊

An incredibly full aroma, this fantastically scented demi-sec has soft notes of summer garden and citrus fruit salad. White peach, jasmine and lemon peel give the wine a stunning delicacy coupled by an amazing vibrancy as the sugars dance like a ballerina on the tongue.  Impeccable balance between fondant fancy vanilla notes and a mineral laciness that lingers on and on.

Reviews & Scores

RS 18 g/l. The sweetness seems to mask some of the fruit purity, but the technical balance of acid and sugar is very well judged, leaving the palate absolutely clean and refreshed. Shows all the standard waxy, lemon curd flavours of Chenin Blanc, with a honeyed finish. 13%. Drink 2017-2025

16.5/20 Richard Hemming MW

96 points Wine Spectator

Delivers a beautiful display of purity and grace, with creamed Jonagold apple, star fruit, white peach and chamomile notes flowing seamlessly, backed by wet stone and fresh verbena accents. Subtle but persistent energy ripples through the very long finish. Drink now through 2035. (JM) (9/2017)

Jancis Robinson

RS 18 g/l. The sweetness seems to mask some of the fruit purity, but the technical balance of acid and sugar is very well judged, leaving the palate absolutely clean and refreshed. Shows all the standard waxy, lemon curd flavours of Chenin Blanc, with a honeyed finish. (RH) (9/2016)

93 Wine Spectator 

Plump and lively, with a core of bold ginger, McIntosh apple and almond notes followed by quince and persimmon flavors. Shows buried minerality, but also an ever-so-slightly off-dry wink on the finish, making this especially fun to drink. Drink now through 2032.

93+ Wine Advocate 

The 2017 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec displays an intense yellow color and offers a fascinatingly pure and chalky/smoky bouquet of crushed stones intertwined with sur-lie notes, oat milk and ripe, well-concentrated fruit aromas. After lots of aeration, you get some lactic notes here as well. Round, lush and intense on the palate, this is a full-bodied, juicy, very refined and elegant Vouvray with delicate tannins, good structure and sensual, slightly sweet fruit. The finish reveals great power but also grip, salt, finesse and enormous length. This is a pretty great wine, and it can age for decades, although it already drinks very well. Tasted in March 2019.

Drinking Window: 2025 - 2045

Reviewer Name: Stephan Reinhardt

Review Date: 31st May 2019

91 Decanter 

Ripe apple compote is layered with honeyed cream; very juicy and concentrated but not cloying. This is pretty and lifted, with enough lemony acidity and firm structure to balance.

Drinking Window: 2018 - 2028

Review Date: 19th June 2018

 

 

 

 

16.5 Jancis Robinson 

Toasted nuts, woolly and honeyed. The picture of classic Chenin, and the sweetness is so well interwoven with the structure. Crackles with acid, and clearly benefits from the extra ripeness that the sec bottling is lacking.

Drinking Window: 2018 - 2028

Review Date: 19th June 2018