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Domaine Huet is revered for mineral-styled, long-ageing wines of varying sweetness that will ‘silence a dinner party with awe and wonderment’, says Neal Martin.

Established in 1928 and farmed biodynamically since 1990, Huet owns three of the best vineyards in the appellation – with Le Haut-Lieu being their very first vineyard. It lies on Vouvray’s ‘Première Côte’ (first slope), which is home to all the appellation’s ‘Grand Cru’ sites.

‘2022 is a very good quality vintage across the board,’ writes Decanter’s Jim Budd. Because of the long growing season, Huet’s Benjamin Joliveau and team could do multiple pickings in the vineyard (as is the way in Vouvray). This facilitated the production of almost the full portfolio of styles, from Sec (dry) to Demi-Sec (their most famous style) to Moelleux (sweet) – an indication of marvellous vintage. The 2022s are powerful and concentrated yet not over-done as the racy acidity and mineral poise form the backbone of the wine.

Le Haut-Lieu is Huet's original vineyard. Deep clay soils with Vouvray's famous sedimentary limestone help produce refined, opulent wines with approachability and remarkable ageability. Clos du Bourg, purchased in 1953, is a walled vineyard of 6 hectares planted on the best slopes, with shallow clay soil over limestone, above the church in Vouvray. It's known for powerful, well-structured wines, notably formidable sweet wines. Le Mont is 8 hectares of stony soils composed of green-tinged clay and silica. Some of Huet's longest-lived wines are made from here, and they’re famous for their elegance and detailed minerality. View the full range here.

It's important to emphasise that, regardless of the sweetness level, the hallmark of Chenin Blanc and indeed Domaine Huet is an unmistakable freshness and natural acidity. This permits the wines to age for a very long time.

It was a pleasure seeing Benjamin Joliveau, who started at Huet in 2003, at this weekend’s Swartland Sermon in Saldanha! He made us realise, once again, how lucky and proud we are to import these incredible wines.

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Tasting notes

Huet Le Haut-Lieu Sec 2022

‘The 2022 Le Haut-Lieu Sec is a lithe, reductive style with floral character and talcum powder. Full of phenolic, lip-smacking texture woven through its core, lending a sense of satisfying grunt to this dry yet balanced style. Clarity, precision and harmony are keywords in this wine's execution.’ – Rebecca Gibbs MW, Vinous, 92/100

‘Polished and elegant, with a mix of Granny Smith apple, kumquat and verbena notes underscored by flinty minerality and salted butter. Shows snappy acidity that offsets the concentration, while smoke wafts through the lengthy finish.’ – Kristen Bieler, Wine Spectator, 92/100

Huet Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec 2022

‘Domaine Huët's 2022 le Haut Lieu Demi-Sec is a gorgeous young wine. The wine offers up a beautifully refined and nascently complex aromatic constellation of sweet quince, apple, bee pollen, white lilies, orange blossoms and a refined base of chalky soil tones. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and fairly reticent out of the blocks, with a superb core of fruit, stunning soil inflection, zesty acids and laser-like focus on the long, pure and impeccably balanced finish. Historically, this bottling would always offer up a few years of early generosity before closing down for a period of hibernation, so I would expect it to continue to blossom over the next year or two and offer a window in which to drink it with great pleasure in its youth, before shutting down again for a while. The extraordinary backend lift and purity from start to finish clearly indicate that this is a great, great young vintage of le Haut Lieu Demi-Sec.’ – John Gilman, View From The Cellar, 95/100

‘Bruised apple and persimmon give this a beautiful earthy dimension, while racy, pithy acidity powers the energy. The rich fruit and ripeness is well-matched by the notes of fleur de sel and crushed stone. Shows impressive depth, acid verve and coiled energy, which carries the off-dry profile.’ – Kristen Bieler, Wine Spectator, 94/100

Huet Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux 2022

‘The 2022 Vouvray "le Haut Lieu" Moelleux from Domaine Huët is another gorgeous wine in the making, sharing the same sense of eternal elegance that is found in the Demi-Sec version. The bouquet is deep, vibrant and complex, soaring from the glass in a mix of sweet quince, fresh pineapple, honeycomb, incipient notes of yellow plum, lovely soil tones, bee pollen and musky floral tones. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with gorgeous depth of fruit, fine soil undertow and grip, a lovely spine of acidity and exquisite balance on the long, complex and very refined finish. Like the Sec and Demi-Sec bottlings, this wine will present a few years where it is open and very enjoyable to drink, followed by a plunge into deep hibernation where it will demand a decade of sleep time. After which, it will be virtually timeless in its drinking beauty.’ – John Gilman, View From The Cellar, 94+/100

‘The 2022 Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux is a supple, tender style. It's delicate on the palate while succulent and medium-sweet, which is quite a feat. You'll struggle to find many producers in the world who can achieve this balance. It has a fine, delicate fragrance of apple, pear and even a hint of celery. The finish is gentle, with a fine texture lightly coating the palate. A little shorter than I'd like ideally, but still super stuff.’ – Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous, 93/100

Huet Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux 1er Trie 2022

‘The 2022 le Haut Lieu Moelleux 1er Trie is a beautifully botrytized bottle of Vouvray, with a lovely mix of aromatics and flavors from about fifty percent noble rot and fifty percent golden berries. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a mix of yellow plum, sweet quince, baked apple, honeycomb, orange peel, a fine base of chalky soil elements and a topnote of citrus blossoms. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and very elegant in personality, with good, but not snappy acids, lovely focus and balance, a great core of fruit and superb length on the seamlessly balanced and complex finish. This is a beautiful wine in the making.’ – John Gilman, View From The Cellar, 94+/100

‘The 2022 Le Haut-Lieu Premiere Trie Moelleux is supple and fine with a high level of purity and finesse. It's delicate, light and precise.’ – Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous, 93/100

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