Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Haut Lie Premier Trie 2022

Domaine Huet is one of the benchmark estates of AOC Vouvray, in the Loire valley, founded in 1928 and farmed biodynamically. This Moelleux is a sweet Chenin Blanc from Le Haut Lieu, the clay-over-limestone vineyard that is the richest and most generous of the estate's three sites. Premier Trie means the wine comes from the first pass through the vineyard, picking only the ripest, most concentrated grapes, some shrivelled by passerillage and some by noble rot in a good year. Chenin Blanc is the key to the style: even at high sugar it keeps a piercing natural acidity, so the wine reads as sweet but never heavy. The cool, damp Loire climate stretches ripening and protects that acidity, while the clay soils of Haut Lieu add weight and roundness to the fruit. After a slow fermentation the wine ages in barrel, where the oak and its slow oxygen exchange build a waxy texture without dominating. The colour is bright gold. The nose is ripe peach, apricot and pear with honey, beeswax and a green-apple freshness. The palate is sweet and layered but driven by acidity into a long, clean finish. Serve chilled, around 8 to 10 degrees, in a white glass.