Home > Wine of the Week > Huet Vouvray Le Haut Lieu Demi-Sec 1985
Huet Vouvray Le Haut Lieu Demi-Sec 1985
One of my intentions when I started my Wine of the Week feature was to think a
little harder about wines in combination with food, looking in particular at
some food and wine matches. It isn't something I have done until now, but this
week I opened a bottle with just that in mind. Dinner was roast pork with some
fabulous crackling with potatoes and parsnips, both roasted in goose fat. I
wanted to see how this mature Vouvray worked with these foods.
For some demi-sec Vouvray is the ultimate expression of Vouvray; after all, it
is perhaps the truest expression of the vineyard and the vintage, as both the
drier wines and the sweeter wines are the result of selections made during one
of the many tries. Yet today it seems to be a style many overlook,
despite the fact that it
works well with a variety of foods. I thought it would make a good foil for this
joint of pork, especially taking into account my intention to serve an apple and
Madeira sauce alongside, which would have some acidity but also perhaps the
faintest touch of sweetness.
This particular Vouvray, the 1985 from
Domaine Huet, is from the Haut Lieu
vineyard, which was the original plot of vines alongside the house which was
purchased by Victor Huet in 1928 - there is more detail on the estate in my
profile. Being demi-sec, it probably
had between 10 and 20 g/l of residual sugar at bottling, although these figures
are not regulated by the Vouvray appellation. Beneath the capsule it looks
remarkably clean considering its 22 years, and the rather small cork comes out
quite cleanly. In the glass the wine has quite a deep, rich, golden colour,
rather more than I might have expected for a demi-sec. This is perhaps an
indicator of the condition of the wine, however, which although initially a
little muted then begins to show notes of baked apples which reveals a touch -
fortunately just a touch - of Madeirisation. But there are some lovely notes of
mature Chenin too, aromas of funk and wool, and this wine still has much to
offer. The palate also suggests that it is time to drink up - as judged by this
particularly dusty bottle anyway - as it is quite dry. It has a considerable
weight and certainly hasn't dried out, with a good texture, good grip, and firm
fresh acidity, all nicely integrated and it will be some time before this wine
falls apart. But there is no sweetness, although it has a broad palate, with
more funky, appley notes like those on the nose, and there is still some length.
With the pork it worked very well indeed, coping very nicely with the apple
sauce too. But I'm glad this was my one and only bottle of this, as I would be
worried about any other bottles left lingering in the cellar. 17/20 (26/2/07)
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