Title Domaine Gaston Huët (Christie's)
Author: Linden Wilkie
Venue: Christie's, 8 King St, London SW1
Date article was added: 25/03/05
Date of event May 6, 2004
I had the pleasure of attending this fantastic vertical tasting of Gaston Huët wines, hosted by Christie’s, and with winemaker Noël Pinguet as speaker.
Huët Auction
The tasting was in support of a sale of rare wines from Huët’s cellars dating back to the 1921 vintage. I was disappointed to miss out on purchasing any of these wines, as they all achieved above high estimate. On the other hand, I was pleased that the wines achieved what they did at auction. They’re world class fine wines.
The Gaston Huët Estate
Anthony Hanson and David Elswood moderated, while Noël Pingeut (who joined Huët in 1976) discussed the estate’s philosophy, which has always been minimalist and which is now bio-dynamic.
Wines from Huët’s three single vineyards were presented: Le Haut Lieu, Le Mont, and Clos du Bourg. Different styles are produced each year depending on the characteristics of the vintage. These range from Sec (dry) demi-sec (medium), to moelleux (“mwa-ler”, or marraowy) which have a minimum of 30g/l residual sugar. Most often this level of concentration is achieved through botrytis-affected grapes, sometimes – as in the case of the 1961 – through passerillé (drying or raising on the vine). Pinguet also explained that the best botrytis grapes are from the first pass through the vineyard – the 1er Trie. Moelleux wines from the 1er Trie are labelled as such and command a premium.
Wine Service
The wines for the tasting were chilled to 5 degrees celcius, and served to reach what Anthiny Hanson MW believes is the optimum serving temperature of 10 degrees celcius. They were served out of chronological order – and I think that worked for this tasting.
Key things learned
The main things I took away from this tasting were:
- The greatness of Huët, and of top Vouvray was reconfirmed in my mind.
- The wines have an incredibly long maturity – the 1924 was still fresh.
- The age of the wine cannot so easily be judged from its colour, but the level of botrytis can – heavily botryitised wines have a coppery depth to them. The 1990 we tried was 100% botrytis affected and had a deeper colour than the 1924.
- The Moelleux wines are not all ‘sweet’. Serving suggestions from Noël Pingeut and Anthony Hanson included roast chicken, cheeses, grilled sweetbreads, pike and crayfish, veal and morels!
For notes on 4 other Huët Vouvrays, including the "regular" Le Haut Lieu Moelleux 1947, as well as five vintages of Moulin Touchais, click here
NB – prices listed below are based on those achieved at the subsequent auction on 20th May 2004.
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