2009 Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
According to Richard Kelley, the conditions during the growing season were "generally good," however, "the 2009 harvest was a complicated one. The 15 day flowering period meant that ripening was not homogenous and Huet needed to send the pickers out three times, even for the sec and demi-sec, in order to harvest at the optimum time." The resulting wines, however, are among the best of the decade, and Huet's 2009 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Sec gives an excellent example. Citrus-yellow in color and with tropical fruit and brioche aromas on the clear and concentrated nose, this is a full-bodied, round and slightly sweet, very intense and elegant Chenin with a juicy texture and a long, impressively aromatic finish that reveals a very delicate grip and a stimulating salinity. This stylish wine drinks lovely already today, but should be decanted. Its aging potential should be very good.
Critic scores
Average Score
The Wine Advocate
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2009 Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu smells of pineapple and candied lime peel, sage and lavender, chalk and alkali. The alkaline character and bitterness of citrus rind make for an austerity and pungency that calls out for some sweetness, a call answered here by 23 grams of residual sugar. Reinforced by the wine’s sweetness are notes of caramel, marzipan, and white raisin, conveying the impression of a “little” moelleux – though at 14% alcohol “little” is perhaps the wrong word. This impressively persistent bottling should be worth following for at least 8-10 years. Noel Pinguet professes great confidence in his 2009s and pleasure in one of those rare vintages where it was possible to bottle everything from sec through Cuvee Constance. That said, he admitted that achieving a balanced dry wine was challenging, and total production of sec was down from the estate norm; that of demi-sec, surprisingly, even more so (represented by a single bottling); virtually half of the vintage production being moelleux. While acknowledging similarities to 1996, Pinguet finds 2008 most closely resembles 1988. His is one of the few 2008 collections from Vouvray or Montlouis that is clearly less consistent than the corresponding 2009s, which he also finds more interesting. Importer: The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (800) 999-4342
The 2009 Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu smells of pineapple and candied lime peel, sage and lavender, chalk and alkali. The alkaline character and bitterness of citrus rind make for an austerity and pungency that calls out for some sweetness, a call answered here by 23 grams of residual sugar. Reinforced by the wine’s sweetness are notes of caramel, marzipan, and white raisin, conveying the impression of a “little” moelleux – though at 14% alcohol “little” is perhaps the wrong word. This impressively persistent bottling should be worth following for at least 8-10 years. David Schildknecht, eRobertParker.com