Le Mont Moelleux 1ère Trie 2022

Wine Description for Le Mont Moelleux 1ère Trie 2022 by Huet

Colour & Appearance

Intense golden yellow, which already announces visually the concentration and noble sweetness of this extraordinary Chenin Blanc.

Nose

A fascinating duality: Initially, the wine presents itself surprisingly delicate and ethereal – gorse, jasmine and apple blossom dominate. With air contact, however, a darker, spicy dimension reveals itself. Fresh and mature stone fruit with skins, grapefruit and kumquat with zests come to the fore, followed by nuts, tobacco, herbs and mineral notes of ash and stone. The wine becomes deeper and more complex by the minute.

Palate

Full and intense, yet remarkably elegant for a Moelleux with 100 g/l residual sugar. The sweet and bitter fruit is tightly interwoven, spicy, juicy and smoky, without ever feeling heavy. Instead of forceful acidity, a prickling minerality provides balance and tension. This is not an opulent dessert wine, but a dense, multifaceted Vouvray with impressive harmony.

Finish

Long, mineral and spicy, with lingering notes of stone fruit and fine smoke.

Terroir & Origin

Le Mont lies on the first plateau of Vouvray, the Première Côte, with a south-facing aspect. The vineyard, documented since the 15th century and owned exclusively by Huet since 1957, is characterised by several metres of topsoil: pebble-sized, fist-sized flint (Perron) in deep green clay over Turonian tuff-limestone – a terroir that guarantees minerality and longevity.

Grape Variety & Vinification

100% Chenin Blanc, harvest from 8 September through late October 2022 (second-earliest start, longest harvest in the estate’s history). The first trie comprises the first botrytis-affected bunches, meticulously sorted, gently pressed and spontaneously fermented. Maturation in used Demi-Muids, malolactic fermentation only in exceptional cases.

Food Pairing Suggestions

Steamed turbot with potatoes and mushrooms in Vouvray and cream, tandoori swordfish steaks or veal fillet with morel cream. The spicy elegance harmonises beautifully with creamy sauces and aromatic spices.

Special Characteristics

This Moelleux is already remarkably harmonious now, but will continue to develop over decades. A rare example of a residually sweet wine that eschews dessert opulence in favour of finesse and drinkability – a Vouvray for connoisseurs.