TN: Rather Lovely, Rather Old Huet (Sat. Dec. 14, 2024)

[Jeff Grossman]

attendees: Don + Melissa, Brad, Jayson, Jay, Sasha, Jeff, Victor, Matthew, Jonathan

The rule for drinking bottles of old Huet Vouvray this holiday season at Don and Melissa's house is: the wine must come from Domaine Huet during Gaston Huet's wine-making years, which are 1937 to 1971. Several of us happily take up this challenge, largely with wines we bought from SFJoe at one time or another.

As always, Don and Melissa's hospitality is front and center. The dining room table is loaded up with everyone's contributions: a chanterelle and bechamel lasagna, several dishes takeout from a good Cantonese restaurant, Brad's famous roast chicken, I bake khachapuri, plus there are a wide assortment of cheeses and breads. There are also a couple desserts: a fruit tart, Melissa's lemon ricotta cake, and a plate of some Chinese dessert obviously based on pasteis de nata.

The drinking room is always outfitted with Don's library of old Loire books, jazz on the speakers, glasses, decanters, the other usual tools of the trade, and the guests of honor:

To Begin: Unusual Bottles
A mystery 1959 Loire red - actually, Amy Freres 1959 Saumur-Champigny Hospice de Saumur "Clos Cristal"; in amazing shape; lively, subtly citrus, red berries, high-toned, air helps to clear away some bottle funk, astonishingly good

Huet 1937 Perlant - the oldest wine tonight; Richard Kelley thinks there are very few of these (n=5) left in the world but Don knows the whereabouts of seven so there is a wisp of mystery in every glass; Don struggles to get the cork out and, with some tag-team effort, we finally pour: rather sweet, though more like fresh fruit than like marmalade, a little tea, this is a late release from the winery (meaning, new label + old cork), maybe not the WOTN but sets a brisk pace for all that comes after, delicately balanced, intense but still stylish; Richard Kelley says it had 30-35 g/l dosage and sat on its lees till after the war

Maybe to no one's surprise, SFJoe posted a note on this wine: click

Huet 1967 Vouvray Sec "Le Haut Lieu" - the only sec and also the only corked bottle; it's not a full-on stinky sock horror show but it is spoiled; fwiw, the texture seems a little thin

A Brief History
Victor Huet founded the domaine in 1928 with the Le Haut Lieu vineyard. His son, Gaston, took the reins in 1937. Other than the years spent in a German POW camp, Gaston ran the domaine by himself.

Gaston bought the Le Mont vineyard in 1957 and the Clos du Bourg in 1963 (though he had already been farming it for 10 years by then).

In 1971, Gaston's son-in-law, Noel Pinguet, joined him in running the estate.

First Flight: Demi-Sec

Somewhat variable.

Huet 1971 Vouvray Demi-Sec - rather light color for 40+ years old, very attractive nose of just-ripe peaches, pale plums and green grapes, Brad smells pine but I get something like cherry cough drop (menthol?), but this is just a trace, we're all sitting with our glasses and breathing deeply, the palate is nice enough and the finish is very long

Huet 1952 Vouvray Demi-Sec "Le Mont" - tangy, lightweight, thinner body than the '71, first of the several bottles that seem to have kept more acidity than sweetness or stuffing and just good but not stunning

Huet 1949 Vouvray Demi-Sec "Le Haut Lieu" - medium gold (so, somewhat darker than any wine since the Perlant), now this is more like what I was expecting: incredibly intense nose and palate of apricots smeared over slate (or chalk?); a little reminiscent of an old riesling (that's probably the acidity speaking to me); beeswax, maybe; botrytis, definitely; good weight; an excellent bottle

Huet 1955 Vouvray Demi-Sec "Le Mont" - another middle-weight wine, there's quite a bit of malic acid here so less unctuous and, even if there is still a decent amount of sugar in here, it's coming across as lean, less ripe, more pebbly

Huet 1957 Vouvray Demi-Sec "Le Clos de Bourg" - OMG bottle, great complexity of expression, less tea and volatiles and more kumquat and gunflint, truly savory with herby grace notes; great palate presence

Intermission

Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou 1981 St-Julien, en magnum - Victor brings cabernet... sauvignon(!) to a big Loire event; this is so pretty: I'm sure this was ripe by the standards of the day but now it is just suave, cool and crisp; currants and gravel and tobacco and a little smoke and a little funk from its age; a treat

Third Flight: Moelleux

All the moelleux wines were great.

Huet 1959 Vouvray Moelleux "Clos de Bourg" - tart, silky, quite rich but not heavy, another wine that is not so fruity but more stony/spicy all the way, Richard Kelley observes there was a lot of passerillage in this vintage

Huet 1957 Vouvray Moelleux "Le Mont" - more assertive yet also shows better balance (less obviously tart, more yellow and orange fruit on the palate, honeycomb and fine gravel)

Huet 1971 Vouvray Moelleux "Clos de Bourg" 1ere Trie - even more in-your-face; very sweet and not shy about it, jammy even; rather darker color, probably due to botrytis and that shows in the palate too; mostly concentrated pit-fruit flavors made more lively with clove and coffee and almond

Huet 1947 Vouvray "Le Haut Lieu" 1ere Trie - OMG bottle, mahogany color, there is even more wine in this wine: glyceral, mouth-coating, pit-fruit perfumes of various kinds delivered with great concentration and curlicues of mocha and truffle(?), so much botrytis intensity, "The greatest vintage I ever made." -Gaston Huet.

The happy campers:

Many thanks to Brad and Don and Melissa for organizing and hosting a memorable event.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

About that 1937 Perlant and the war, Don found this elaboration:

from “Wine & War” 2001, by Don and Petie Kladstrup, Broadway Books.

“Andre Foreau, a winemaker from Vouvray, buried his best bottles under the beans, tomatoes and cabbages of his vegetable garden. Foreau’s brother-in-law Gaston Huet used the natural caves of the Loire Valley to hide his stocks of wine. Then he planted weeds and bushes in front of the caves to conceal their entrances." (p.95)

 

[Rahsaan]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:


Huet 1937 Perlant - the oldest wine tonight; Richard Kelley thinks there are very few of these (n=5) left in the world but Don knows the whereabouts of seven so there is a whisp of mystery in every glass; Don struggles to get the cork out and, with some tag-team effort, we finally pour: rather sweet, though more like fresh fruit than like marmalade, a little tea, this is a late release from the winery (meaning, new label + old cork), maybe not the WOTN but sets a brisk pace for all that comes after, delicately balanced, intense but still stylish; Richard Kelley says it had 30-35 g/l dosage and sat on its lees till after the war

Impressive stuff. Not that the other offerings sound shabby. But great story about how the human spirit copes during war/difficult times.

 

[MLipton]

Great to hear about these wines, though the reminders of SFJoe are bittersweet. Still, great news about the ‘47 LHL 1er as I have one sitting in our cellar. Mebbe I can tote it along to the next one of these.

Mark Lipton

 

[Jayson Cohen]

Thanks for the great memorialization of a truly wonderful event. And thanks again to Don and Melissa for hosting.

My only major quibble relates to the 1952. It’s like we drank from different bottles, but no. Insane special wine. Again. A head above in texture, complexity, and palate energy to the other Demi-secs, and for me maybe only the 1947 was at that very lofty level.

Happy holidays all!

 

[Don Rice]

SFJoe’s willingness to open vintages other than the acknowledged great ones was key to opening my eyes re Huet. Even the merely “good” vintages here evolved into extremely interesting and pleasurable wines. Pairing the good alongside the great at this event kicked the degree of pleasure up to an even higher level for me.

Huet chose to save all of these bottles. He saw something in each wine to commit to cellaring them for many decades. For the merely good vintages, I wonder what qualities did they show when young that pursuaded Huet to lay them down?

Brad and Jeff documenting.

Jayson and the 47?

 

[robert ames]

on another note, and fully aware that it may appear to be an over the top quibble, i must say that in a group of such serious seekers, i am really surprised to see foils cut so that the wine can contact the foil. especially as those would be lead foils.

 

[Don Rice]

Pretty sure the white script labels were 2004-2013 cellar releases. I doubt they ever had a capsule before then. The older labels are prob from late 1990s releases. Weren’t lead capsules phased out after 1993? I could be wrong but these felt like tin. I’d be concerned too if they were lead.

 

[Jeff Grossman]

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
My only major quibble relates to the 1952. It’s like we drank from different bottles, but no. Insane special wine. Again. A head above in texture, complexity, and palate energy to the other Demi-secs, and for me maybe only the 1947 was at that very lofty level.

Those darn alleles!

Happy holidays all!

Happys and Merrys!

 

[Christian Miller (CMM)]

Amazing tasting, nice historical footnotes, a treat even for us non-participants. Thanks and hope all of you enjoy the rest of the holidays.

 

[robert ames]

originally posted by Don Rice:
Pretty sure the white script labels were 2004-2013 cellar releases. I doubt they ever had a capsule before then. The older labels are prob from late 1990s releases. Weren’t lead capsules phased out after 1993? I could be wrong but these felt like tin. I’d be concerned too if they were lead.

alrighty, maybe the disorder here is sufficient to preclude any protocol regarding the treatment of foils, but in the wine service world, foils are always cut at the second bevel--there's still metal contact to be avoided. (and you need to look like you're not just a high-school student on lunch break.) just the same as proper wine service precludes ripping the foil from the neck of the bottle before opening.

 

[BJ]

OK, I have a question.

I recently bought a '61 le Haut Lieu demi-sec from Chambers (I give it >50% that someone here consigned it) for Mme...birth year and all that.

I am clueless about old Huet. Any speculation about what this will taste like, and what might be good to eat with it (or if this is a solitary wine of contemplation).

 

[Don Rice]

Hey BJ,
Congrats on what I hope is a great bottle. I've put together a few things for you that may be helpful. Will let others chime in about food. I'm sure it will go great with many things. 1961 was a really good demisec vintage, so expect a moderate amount of rs balanced by a solid acidic backbone. It won't be a dessert wine, and depending on development may taste extremely youthful, though ymmv. In 2009 SFJoe suggested a good decant before serving. Some late release bottles were recorked and perhaps the topping up/SO2 dosing may have slowed down their development, maybe only for a few years, maybe longer. The linked thread is worth a read and brings back memories. click

Here’s Richard Kelley’s take on the vintage and wine:
1961 vintage - “Whilst three different sweet wines were made, 1961 is a quintessential vintage for Demi-Sec. The yields on the sweet wines averaged around 30hl/ha and were harvested as part bunches rather than single berries. This is more of a passerillage year as the wind kept the grapes dry and aided their desiccation. The harvesting commenced on 9th October.”

1961 Le Haut Lieu Demi-Sec (original cork)
“Bright. Pale yellow/green. Lovely mineral, gunflint and spent match characters adding to the complexity. This is still very fresh with some mature Sauvignon-like flavours. The palate is sweeter than the nose suggests. It builds well, with good structure and concentration. The finish is dry, delicate and mineral. This is a complex wine that continues to evolve in the glass. It is still youthful and can be expected to develop further over many more years. (08/04)” - Richard Kelley
———
SFJoe enthused in 2011 that he is “still howling at the moon” for 61 lhl demi, 1921 moelleux, 1947 doux. click
———
Cellar tracker TNs for the wine: click

 

[Jay Miller]

61s are one of those immortal vintages that are drinking well now will be until the sun goes out and the earth is a dark and lifeless ball of ice

I’m with Jeff my wotn and wwoty was the 1957 cdb Demi sec

But I was alone in that opinion at the last huet a thon at sf joes as well

 

[BJ]

Well that's delightful info. Thanks gents!

 

[Pavel Tchichikov]

I agree with Jay re '57 CdB; it's just that the '52 was one of those alien wines.

Brad, the '61 is amazing. It borrows some of the flower-packed phenolic texture of the '59 but does not let it dominate; same can be said for innumerable and borderline exotic fruits on loan from the '71 we had two weeks ago. It's a more reserved wine than either, with a more prominent limestone skeleton.

you won't regret solitary contemplation, but cheese course works as well. Nothing too aged/pungent though, the wine should provide all the complexity you'll need.

if you got it from csw around labor day, then it's most likely an sfjoe bottle

 

[BJ]

originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
I agree with Jay re '57 CdB; it's just that the '52 was one of those alien wines.

Brad, the '61 is amazing. It borrows some of the flower-packed phenolic texture of the '59 but does not let it dominate; same can be said for innumerable and borderline exotic fruits on loan from the '71 we had two weeks ago. It's a more reserved wine than either, with a more prominent limestone skeleton.

you won't regret solitary contemplation, but cheese course works as well. Nothing too aged/pungent though, the wine should provide all the complexity you'll need.

if you got it from csw around labor day, then it's most likely an sfjoe bottle

O gosh, thanks Pavel. That is when I got it...

...the cheese course idea sounds excellent...

 

[Brad Kane]

Thanks, Jeff, again, for being the scribe. Not too much to quibble about with the exception of the '52 demi. Not sure if maybe you confused what was in your glass, but that wine was sensational, as it always is and would've taken WOTN honors if not for the other worldly '47 LHL 1ere Trie. That demi-sec in general was pretty remarkable. The '55 was certainly the runt of the litter, but it was an incredible showing by the '57, which bested an excellent '49. At the very first Huet-a-thon at Don & Melissa's in 2000, the '49 LHL Moelleux was my WOTN followed closely by the '52 LM Demi.

The '71 LHL Demi was excellent, but was done a disservice by not having been decanted. It continued to come together and build throughout the evening.

Btw, with regard to the discussion on the '61 demi, once upon time about eighteen years ago, Joe called me over for dinner as he was trying to decide what to buy more of, the '61 or '62 LHL demi. He opened both and while both were excellent, the '61 was certainly ahead. He ended up buying more of both. I actually prefer the '61 demi to the '61 Moelleux, which lacks the balance and completeness of the demi, imo.

Great to see the gang! This year, 1990 and 1995 Loire-a-thons!

Brad

 

[Ken Schramm]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:

Huet 1937 Perlant - the oldest wine tonight; Richard Kelley thinks there are very few of these (n=5) left in the world but Don knows the whereabouts of seven so there is a wisp of mystery in every glass; Don struggles to get the cork out and, with some tag-team effort, we finally pour: rather sweet, though more like fresh fruit than like marmalade, a little tea, this is a late release from the winery (meaning, new label + old cork), maybe not the WOTN but sets a brisk pace for all that comes after, delicately balanced, intense but still stylish; Richard Kelley says it had 30-35 g/l dosage and sat on its lees till after the war

Maybe to no one's surprise, SFJoe posted a note on this wine: click

Huet 1967 Vouvray Sec "Le Haut Lieu" - the only sec and also the only corked bottle; it's not a full-on stinky sock horror show but it is spoiled; fwiw, the texture seems a little thin

Readily confess to Ten-Commandments-grade coveting thy neighbor's wine here. My soul what a night. Would have loved to taste that Perlant, and all the others, to be frank.

Re: the corked '67, I have always found the challenge of sorting out the positives of a corked bottle to be the little brother of learning the unknown cause of death of a relative from the coroner. It's sort of good to know, but it does nada to assuage the loss.

 

[Don Rice]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Huet 1937 Perlant - rather sweet, though more like fresh fruit than like marmalade, a little tea

I just read a '69 Perlant TN by Jancis Robinson. She says Huet only started producing a brut in 1985, so maybe off-dry sparklers used to be more common then than now (if they exist at all now.)