Le Mont Moelleux 1ère Trie 2017

Wine Description for Le Mont Moelleux 1ère Trie 2017 by Huet

Colour & Appearance

A luminous, deep golden yellow in the glass – already visually a promise that this wine more than delivers on.

Nose

The nose opens immediately and with conviction: ripe stone fruits, apricot and quince form the radiant centre, whilst with increasing aeration stone fruit gains dominance. Interspersed are flashes of ginger, bitter orange and a hint of honey, complemented by seductive notes of salted almonds, nougat and pickled garden herbs. A wine that leads its own life in the glass and never fully reveals itself.

Palate

Here unfolds the full class of this extraordinary vintage. The 65 grams of residual sugar works with remarkable buoyancy and harmony – never heavy, never intrusive. The yellow fruit is ripe yet marked by fine precision. A vibrant, penetrating acidity holds the entire structure in suspension and lends the wine an almost dance-like lightness. The texture is viscous and silky, the phenolics provide substance and backbone.

Finish

Long, complex and remarkably precise. Apricots, kumquats and prunes combine with saline minerals and fine spice accents to create a finale that resonates long after the final sip. A finish that rewards patience.

Terroir & Origin

The Le Mont comes from one of the most renowned single vineyard sites of Vouvray – a south-facing slope above the Brenne river, whose tuffeau soils give Chenin Blanc that mineral tension and longevity which have made Huet wines legendary.

Grape Variety & Vinification

Chenin Blanc in its noblest expression. The designation „1ère Trie“ refers to the first selective harvest pass, during which 2017 – due to the unusually early and warm vintage – had little botrytis present. The result is a moelleux of extraordinary freshness and precision, which prioritises the purity of fruit over concentration. The wine is aged traditionally in the cellar and is built to last for decades.

Food Pairing Suggestions

A wine for special moments: ideal with lobster with lemon-ginger butter, where salinity and fruit enter into dialogue. Equally convincing with liver pâté with caramelised apples – the wine’s sweetness mirrors the caramel notes, whilst the acidity cuts through the richness. To conclude a grand menu: hazelnut soufflé with pears, cinnamon and cardamom.

Special Characteristics

Huet ranks among the absolute reference producers of the Loire – biodynamically farmed, uncompromising in quality and style. The 2017 Le Mont Moelleux 1ère Trie is a wine that fascinates today, yet will only fully reveal its true potential in ten, twenty or more years to come. To drink it now would be to turn the page too early.