Vouvray

NEW, FUN BUBBLES FROM AN OLD ‘FRIEND’

One could spend time debating what makes for the best bubbly, but on most days for most of us, something that is clean, interesting, and not prohibitively expensive is never a bad choice. Sometimes you just want some good fizz or even just make a cocktail. With that in mind, we are always looking for some thing new, different, and moderately priced for the selection. A new surprise from a old label handed us one of the more interesting options we have seen in quite a while.

Chateau Moncontour Sparkling Vouvray Cuvee Prediliction 2016 struck a really nice balance between lift, bright flavors, refined bubbles, and palate interest. Made from 100% Chenin Blanc, it manages to show varietal nuance of citrus and peach, with some underlying chalky terroir notes, with fine bubbles, clarity of flavors, and a clean finish.

If you were fortunate enough to have the stunning Huet sparkler we had last year, this one shows a lot of the same nuance at close to half the price. Don’t confuse this one with their non-vintage, regular cuvee as this one much brighter and more focused and only a couple bucks more. It’s clean, crisp, and dry, and at a perfect tab for much more casual applications. We find it a bit more defined than most similarly priced domestic bubblies. You don’t have to tell folks it wasn’t expensive.

DELICIOUS ‘OLD SCHOOL’ VOUVRAY FROM GUY SAGET

As much as we love Vouvray, we are willing to admit that it is a not the easiest genre to understand. It is important to define one’s terms because the label doesn’t always dial it in for you. Dessert Vouvray is usually labeled molleux, but beyond that it gets a little fuzzy. You will see the word ‘trie’ on a label. But with Huet that is a later harvest, with multiple passes through the vineyard, and typically something on the dessert end of the spectrum. Yet Baumard also makes a wine with ‘trie’ on the label. Same multiple passes through the vineyard, and it’s killer, too, but it is bone dry.

It’s the same when there aren’t words. Some of the bottlings will say ‘demi sec’ or ‘tendre’ which indicates there’s a hint of residual sugar which we find an essential with Chenin Blanc. Many labels simply say Vouvray, which doesn’t necessarily tell you what the style of the wine is. It could be anywhere from bone dry to that demi-sec profile, which is kind of the tradition in this area. Some of them can be downright sweet. Life on the edge.

All of that being said, Saget is an old friend around here. We have sold several vintages, and a whole lot of some of them. The style of the house is definitely what could be described as ‘enlightened’ demi-sec that sits on the less sweet end of this very specific category. We are huge fans of Chenin Blanc, the grape, but firmly believe that a touch of sweetness goes a long way in helping the varietal settle into a nice groove. Chenin at its best has driving acidity and, like Riesling, a little sweetness helps temper the angry edges this varietal can have. For most of its history as we know it, Saget lives in that ‘crowd pleaser’ area stylistically and they do one heck of a job at it.

The Saget La Perriere Vouvray Marie de Beauregard 2015 is once again an engaging mouthful, with bright fruit components of peach and citrus, with honeyed notes to the finish and a snappy cut of acidity that keeps everything quivering. For its style, it is way too easy to quaff and it has pulled 91 or more from Wine Spectator in five of the last seven vintages as well as three ‘Smart Buy’ comments (under Saget La Perriere and previously under the label Guy Saget). Not bad for something that sells for under $15 but it is hard not to like this.

Not surprising, the Saget La Perriere Vouvray Marie de Beauregard 2015 was again awarded 92 points by Wine Spectator and a ‘Smart Buy’ tout with comments, “ Juicy and ripe, with inviting pear, quince and fig flavors laced with light ginger and honeysuckle notes. Shows a flash of hazelnut through the finish. On the hedonistic side, but has the freshness for balance.“ It’s one of those sneaky little finds that ‘keeps on giving.’

NEAR PERFECT (98 Points) DESSERT FROM HUET

“…2015 is an exceptional and historic vintage again at Huet (perhaps the best since 1997). I can only recommend to buy cases of all styles.” – Stephen Reinhardt, Wine Advocate #227, October 2016

It doesn’t take a lot to get us to talk about one of our favorite estates in the Loire, Domaine Huet. What with the historic aspects, including Gaston’s story as a prisoner of war in Germany, the long success of the estate upon his return, the takeover by the Hwang family, and the eventual retirement fixture Noel Pinguet (he had been there since 1971) and the eventual taking of the reins by his former assistant Jean-Bernard Berthomé, there was never a lack of material to write about.

Of course, without the wine, there is no story. Of course, we’ll be the first to admit that the timing of the winemaking transition over the course of a couple of difficult vintages did give us cause for concern. Was Huet, one of our favorite estates, going to become ‘just another Loire producer?’ The thought was depressing. But Berthomé hit back-to-back home runs in 2014 and 2015 and restored our faith.

As we said in an earlier piece on the 2015s, the 2015 Huet lineup serves as an exclamation point on what will be viewed as an important harvest for the Loire. The recent Wine Spectator article on the Loire Valley in 2015 was glowing and the ‘Top Picks’ section looked like an advertisement for Huet with the top eight wines listed, and nine of the first 11, bearing the Huet label. At the top of the list were Huet’s dessert (moelleux) offerings, destined to become modern day legends. We wouldn’t be at all surprised to see one pop up in the Top 100, though quantities would barely justify that (not that such things concern the press).

A great Loire sweet is in a league by itself. The complexity of late harvest Chenin Blanc and the pristine, precise acidity will enable these wines to age decades. Great examples like this are rare because the conditions that must exist for this ripening process to occur in the place only happen once or twice a decade. We fondly remember the historic 1996 and 1997 vintages and recently managed to scrape up a few bottles of Huet direct from their cellars from the great 1989 vintage (we still may have a few bottles).

What we’re getting at is that, for wines like this, and Huet in particular, this is a special moment. These are best of breed, and, while they aren’t cheap, they are bargains compared to the elite Sauternes and Beerenauslese from Germany with whom they easily can stand. The ‘Trie’ wines in particular are super labor-intensive, the result of multiple passes (or tries) through the vineyard.

This wine, however, is a little different, as the workers go through the vineyards and pick the heavily botrytized and/or raisined grapes first, berry by berry. This is why the 1ere Trie is called 1ere Trie – it is the “first pick.”

Let us reiterate…THIS WINE IS SPECIAL.

The wines from Huet’s Le Mont vineyard, from rockier soils, have a more pronounced streak of minerality and a firmer backbone that provides the structure for aging. The Wine Advocate’s Stephan Reinhardt had the Huet Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux Première Trie 2015 pegged as his favorite, noting, “This is super clear, ripe and aromatic on the nose, highly elegant and with lovely flinty flavors. Intense and concentrated, with great finesse and vitality, this is a highly elegant and perfectly balanced wine with a persistent grip and salinity. Great balance and harmony. 98 points.”

It is the Wine Advocate’s highest-scoring Loire Valley white wine for the outstanding 2015 vintage. It literally gets no better. And at $64.98 for a full bottle, it’s certainly one of the great values in world-class dessert wine that, incidentally, could potentially find itself cozying up to some spicier Asian preparations after a decade in the cellar.

Get this world-class gem while you can, historically wines like this come long once a decade.