Le Mont Moelleux 1ère Trie 2022

Le Mont is located above the tufa caves and to the east of the Huet vineyard on the first plateau of Vouvray, the so-called Première Côteand is south-facing. It was mentioned as early as the 15th century and has been highly valued ever since. Like the other two vineyards, Le Mont, with its nine hectares, is the sole property of the Huet estate and was acquired by Gaston Huet in 1957 as the last of the three vineyards. It is characterised by topsoil that is several metres deep, namely a pebbly flint that is sometimes the size of a fist. perron is called, in deep green clay. The base is the usual Turonian tuff limestone.

The harvest began in 2022 on 8 September and ended six weeks later (the harvest workers, 24 of them this year, have never harvested for so long). As heatwaves and drought led to a very heterogeneous ripening of the grapes, all varieties of Chenin Blanc could be produced, from the base wine for pétillants to 1er Trie. As usual, the grapes were meticulously sorted, pressed and spontaneously fermented during the many harvest rounds. Malolactic fermentation only took place in exceptional cases and in individual barrels. The wine was matured in used demi-muids.

At Le Mont Moelleux »Première Trie« is a residual sweet wine in which the first grapes affected by botrytis have found their way into the wine. In this case, residual sweetness means 100 g/litre.

intense golden yellow

The Le Mont Moelleux »Première Trie« 2022 appears fine and elegant, almost delicate. So fragrant and floating I have never seen the Première Trie rarely experienced from this vineyard. The really fascinating thing is that beneath this delicate side, the darker, spicy, stony side also reveals itself with air and the wine becomes deeper and more intense from minute to minute. It opens with notes of broom and jasmine, apple blossom, ash and stone. Then fresh and crunchy pome fruit with peel, grapefruit and kumquats with zest appear. Finally, there are aspects of nuts, tobacco, herbs and stone.

On the palate the Le Mont Moelleux »Première Trie« Full and intense with a firm, sweet and tart fruit. In some vintages, this wine is like a dessert course in its own right. Not so in 2022: everything is densely interwoven, spicy, juicy and smoky, but not heavy. The wine may not have a powerful acidity, but it does have a tingling minerality. It is a Vouvraywhich already looks extremely harmonious, but will continue to develop over decades.