RWC Nesletter Special Edition | The Soul of Huët - The Rare Wine Co.

THE RARE WINE CO. NEWSLETTER SPECIAL EDITION
AUGUST 17, 2010
Domaine Huët’s mythic Clos du Bourg in October.
21481 EIGHTH STREET EAST | SONOMA, CA 95476 | 800-999-4342 | 707-996-4484 | SALES@RAREWINECO.COM | TWITTER: @RAREWINECO

THE RARE WINE CO.
21481 EIGHTH STREET EAST SONOMA, CA 95476 phone: (800) 999-4342 fax: (800) 893-1501 email us at sales@rarewineco.com
A u g u s t 1 7 , 2 0 1 0 - O N LI N E S P E C I A L ED I T I O N
The Soul of Huët
An Epic Offering from a Legendary Domaine
Since its founding in 1928, Vouvray’s Domaine Huët has staked its claim
among the world’s supreme white wine estates.
Of course, the domaine regularly produces some of the world’s greatest dessert wines,
but their dry whites can rival Grand Cru Chablis for minerality and complexity. And
their aged Demi-Secs must rank among the planet’s most versatile food wines. What’s
more, Huët’s Pétillants outclass all but the finest names in Champagne. To top it all,
these are surely the longest-lived of the world’s great white wines.
Yet, despite its rich past, the domaine is today producing the most consistently
great wines in its history, with even greater wines to come.
Origins of an Ideal
While Huët will forever be associated with Gaston Huët, the domaine was
actually founded by Gaston’s father, Victor, who settled in Vouvray to recover
both mentally and physically from World War I.
In 1928, Victor purchased his first vineyard, Le Haut-Lieu, in the appellation’s
prized Première Côte, and was joined in his work by his son. Gaston assumed
full charge by 1938, and with an obsessive devotion to quality and a genius for
promotion, he built the Huët legacy over the next 55 years—despite spending
five years in a German POW camp during World War II.
Gaston understood intuitively that great quality could only come from great
vineyards, and so with time he added two more jewels to his viticultural crown:
Le Mont (purchased in 1957) and Clos du Bourg (farmed since 1953, purchased
in 1963). Both of these vineyards would rank at the top of anyone’s classification
and, with Haut-Lieu, the three vineyards give Huët a position in
Vouvray similar to that of Domaine de Romanée-Conti in Vosne-Romanée.
Collectively, they account for Huët’s preeminence among Vouvray producers.
Succession
In 1971, Gaston was joined by his gifted son-in-law, Noël Pinguet. As he gradually
took over the estate’s operations, Noël learned to revere the wines and traditions
developed under Gaston. At the same time, Noël saw opportunities to enhance
quality and to refine the personalities of their three great vineyards. With Gaston’s
blessing, he became one of France’s earliest pioneers in biodynamic viticulture (see
page 4), seeking to produce wines with even more identity and character.
As Gaston was nearing the end of his life in 2002, Noël found his future partner
in Anthony Hwang, a Filipino-born, New York businessman, who shared the
estate’s philosophy of terroir-based winemaking. The strength of this team goes a
long way in explaining the extraordinary rise in consistency that the domaine
has enjoyed in recent vintages.
The Rare Wine Co. has long been a passionate advocate for the wines of Domaine
Huët, and so we were deeply honored this summer to be appointed its U.S.
importer. It is our further privilege to devote this newsletter—the first single-producer
newsletter in our 21-year history—to one of the world’s truly noble domaines.

Vouvray’s Son
Gaston Huët, 1910-2002
Given the celebrity that Domaine Huët enjoys today, it’s difficult for us to imagine
what it was like during much of Gaston Huët’s life. Born in 1910, he was
eighteen years old when his family re-settled to the manoir on Le Haut-Lieu.
“” The doyen of Vouvray ... the
ambassador of the Loire.
Neal Martin on the late Gaston Huët
In 1938, Gaston assumed
the reins from his father
but he was soon conscripted
into the French army
and sent off to war.
Captured by the Germans
in 1941, he spent the next
five years as a prisoner of
war, returning to his domaine in 1945 to find his unbottled wines ruined by oxidation
in barrel or adulteration by Vichy inspectors. The only pre-war wines that survived
were a few hundred bottles secreted away.
He was forced to start over, yet he prevailed, producing wines of great character and
richness for a further 57 years until his death in 2002.
The late Gaston Huët
Gaston Huët embodied both Loire Valley wine and his
generation of French winemakers. Starting with one
great vineyard, Le Haut-Lieu, he later added two others,
Le Mont and Clos du Bourg. From his laser-guided
secs to his ambrosial moelleux, he made some of the
greatest Chenin Blanc wines the world has ever seen.
He was more than Vouvray’s greatest winemaker: he
served, for forty-six years, as the town’s mayor, having
succeeded Charles Vavasseur, from whom Gaston
acquired Clos du Bourg. Gaston’s tenure as mayor
began in 1947 and ended in 1989, of course, quite
fittingly, two of Vouvray’s most legendary vintages.
Wine to Lift
Wartime Spirits
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DURING THE WAR, Gaston was a lieutenant in the French army. In 1940,
he was captured at the port of Calais and simprisoned at the Oflag IV-D
camp. But he was determined to keep hope alive.
In Wine & War, Don and Petie Kladstrup tell the moving story of Gaston’s
efforts to organize a wine fête for nearly 4,000 prisoners in the camp, each of
whom received a taste of wine on the night of the affair.
Gaston recalled that the party, “gave us something to hold on to ... Talking
about wine and sharing it made all of us feel closer to home, and more alive.”
What did Gaston drink? A dry white wine from the Loire, which, years later,
he called “the best wine I ever drank.”
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Miracles Do Happen
Huët’s Mythic 2002 Pétillant
Disgorged Just For This Offer
Huët’s great sparkling wine, called simply Pétillant, is revered for its
Champagne-like texture, laser-guided acidity and profound minerality.
But few have had the chance to drink one of the great vintages—from bottles that
have slept a few extra years on the lees in Huët’s cellar. Thanks to the domaine’s
generosity, you have that chance, and we strongly urge you to take advantage of it.
The Great 2002
We refer, to the Domaine’s decision to disgorge for us a small amount of its famed
2002 Pétillant Résérve. This is the wine about which, in 2007, John Gilman wrote:
“The 2002 vintage is a great year for Domaine Huët, and this newly released
Pétillant will turn out to be a brilliant wine. However, at age five this wine is still
almost painfully young, and another five or six years of cellaring will be richly
rewarded. The domaine has only released about fifty percent of the production
of the 2002 Pétillant at this time, as it is holding back the
remainder for some extended aging on its lees in the cellars.”
While the domaine will continue to age most of its remaining
stock, we have the first chance to experience this legend-in-themaking
with additional time on the lees.
2002 Huët Pétillant Résérve*
94 Gilman
$39.95 bot. $450.00 12-bt cs.
John Gilman (on the original release, before extended aging): “... still
very young, as it offers up a beautiful mélange of fresh-baked bread,
bee pollen, great minerality, and fruit tones of quince and grapefruit
zest ... the wine is full-bodied, deep and racy, with bracing acidity,
stunning focus, a fine mousse, and tremendous length and grip on
the nascently complex and refined finish. This will be a great bottle.”
Pétillant: A Noble Wine’s Pedigree
“”
Magical ... ridiculously inexpensive for the quality. Peter Liem
One of the great sparkling wines of the world. John Gilman
I’d love to stack it up against scores of Champagnes at anywhere
near this price. Josh Raynolds
Further testimony—as if any were needed—to the brilliance of Huët.
Mike Steinberger, Slate
ONE OF Huët’s most revered wines, Pétillant can count many of France’s and
America’s top sommeliers among its admirers. But one of its biggest fans is Noël
Pinguet himself, who is moved by the wine’s distinctive sense of terroir.
The fruit comes from Huët’s three grand cru vineyards—Le Haut-Lieu, Le
Mont, and Clos de Bourg—with the addition of
fruit from other biodynamically farmed parcels the
domaine owns on the Première Côte.
In the cellar, Pinguet stops primary fermentation
once it reaches a desired amount of residual sugar,
which is then used to start the secondary fermentation
in bottle. And after extended aging on the
lees, the wines are dosed with a Moelleux (as
opposed to cane or beet sugar) from one of the
estate’s three “grand crus” from the same vintage as
the base wine.
The result is one of the world’s most expressive
sparkling wines, one which faithfully expresses
an extraordinary terroir and the grandeur of
Chenin Blanc.
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Pétillant, undisgorged,
in Huët’s cellars.

A Screaming Value
The 94-Rated 2008 Le Mont Demi-Sec
Part of the pleasure of exploring Huët’s wines is being able to savor superbly
crafted wines of very different styles from the same vineyards and vintage.
In a given year, you can experience wines of both dramatic sweetness and
piercingly dry minerality.
But for many devotees of Huët, the benchmark cuvées are the demi-sec. These
wines contain just a small amount of sugar, which balances and frames the minerality
and acidity. In fact, many insiders believe that the demi-sec style most faithfully
expresses Vouvray’s terroir.
The 2008 vintage was a classic year for demi-sec at Huët. In an interview with
erobertparker’s Neal Martin, Noël Pinguet said that he thought that
the demi-secs were the finest wines he made in '08.
And as you’ll see from his score for the brilliant Le Mont Demi-
Sec, John Gilman is also a huge fan.
Needless to say this is a monumental bargain, and should not be
missed. $33 with a 6-bottle purchase.
2008 Le Mont Demi-Sec
$35.00 bot. $198.00 6-bt. case
John Gilman: “94 rating ... The beautiful and superbly complex
nose ... soars from the glass in a blaze of apple, sweet grapefruit,
incipient notes of honeycomb, orange peel, kaleidoscopic
minerality and an esthery topnote of bee pollen ... full-bodied,
pure and very snappy, with a rock solid core of fruit, laser-like
focus, really a superb expression of its underlying terroir and
outstanding length and grip on the racy and transparent finish.
A wonderful bottle ....”
2005 Huët Constance
A Legend-in-the-Making
Since 1928, when Gaston Huët took over the winemaking chores from his
father, Domaine Huët has chalked up many historic years.
Until 1989, Huët’s top wine was always a Moelleux from either the Le Haut-Lieu
vineyard (through 1947) or Clos du Bourg (in 1959). But in 1989, a new luxury
cuvée was created, “Constance.” In a year with much “Vintage of the Century”
talk, Constance was widely considered the year’s best, with Michael Broadbent
giving it 6 stars (out of a possible 5!) in his New Great Vintage Wine Book.
Other great Constances followed in 1995, 1997, 2002 and 2003. But the
2005—a selection of grapes loaded with both botrytis and acidity—may surpass
any since the great '89.
The 2005 Cuvée Constance combines breathtaking focus and monumental
sweetness. The interplay of sugar and acidity is unique to Chenin
Blanc, and could never be found in even the most profound Sauternes
or late-harvest wines of Alsace. It has the potential to age for a half century
and is one of the most exciting Loire wines we've ever tasted.
2005 Huët Cuvée Constance
97 Josh Raynolds
$129.95 500 ml
Josh Raynolds: "Wildly complex scents of yellow peach, nectarine,
orange marmalade and candied flowers ... Lush but penetrating ...
with zesty citrus notes adding lift and clarity to the dense fruit.
Nervy lime and pear notes resonate on the ridiculously long finish
... an uncanny blend of richness and vivacity; this will have no
problem outliving anybody reading this review.”
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Domaine Huët’s Three “Grand Crus”
The measure of a great domaine is its vineyards, and Huët arguably has not
only the finest vineyards in Vouvray but one of the most extraordinary
collections of terroirs in France.
The vineyards were acquired over a thirty-five year period, first by Victor
Huët, and then later by Gaston. Father and son were drawn to the sites not
only by their soil and exposure, but also their long histories of producing
LE HAUT-LIEU
This historic vineyard, the estate’s first, was purchased
by Victor Huët in November of 1928, and for decades
was the heart and soul of the domaine. Long considered
one of Vouvray’s greatest vineyards, Le Haut-Lieu,
not surprisingly, enjoys one of the appellation’s highest
elevations. Its lower manoir served as Gaston’s office
and residence for most of his life.
Among the three “grand crus,” its nine hectares have
the richest soils and, generally, the site yields the
most precocious, generously textured wines.
LE MONT
Le Mont was the second great vineyard to be added
to the domaine, purchased by Gaston in 1957.
Mentioned in documents as early as the fifteenth
century, the site’s topsoil is relatively high in iron,
and has less clay and more stone than Le Haut-Lieu.
Consequently, Le Mont yields young wines of
intense minerality which, with age, develop great
length and finesse. John Gilman has called Le
Mont, “unquestionably one of the greatest (vineyards)
in all of Vouvray.”
the area’s finest wines.
Each vineyard is located on Vouvray’s vaunted “Première Côte” (or “first slope”)
atop a subsoil of yellow limestone or tuffeau. But thanks to different topsoils,
each cru has an unmistakably unique character.
Since 1991, the potential of each site has been magnified by Gaston Huët’s and
Noël Pinguet’s bold decision to apply strict biodynamic techniques.
CLOS DU BOURG
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Clos du Bourg is considered by many, including
Gaston Huët, to be the domaine’s—and the appellation’s—greatest
vineyard. The domaine sourced
fruit here beginning in 1953, and purchased the
vineyard in 1963 from Charles Vavasseur, a key figure
in Vouvray history.
This ancient, walled vineyard dates back to at least the
eighth century and has one of the shallowest, stoniest
topsoils on the Première Côte, with its roughly one
meter of clay, silt and pebbles transitioning to the
tuffeau limestone subsoil. This combination of soils,
according to John Gilman, produces “one of the most
powerfully built and ageworthy wines in Vouvray.”

Ultimate Nectar
The Magical 2008 Moelleux 1ère Tries
For long-time Rare Wine Co. customers, the Moelleux 1ère Trie cuvées define the
wonder of this historic domaine. They are, of course, the richest, sweetest, wines
that Huët makes—but they’ve only been made in 14 vintages since 1971.
When we had the chance in the early 1990s, we and our customers filled our cellars
with the '89 and '90 Moelleux 1ère Tries and are still savoring their timeless
magic—an ambrosial marriage of lush, floral fruit, with the crisp, citrus-tinged
acidity that is the domaine’s hallmark.
The 2008 Le Mont and Clos du Bourg 1ère Tries are destined for decades of
development. Just $56.50 when you buy 6 bottles of 1ère Trie, mix or match.
Don’t miss them.
2008 Le Mont Moelleux 1ère Trie
$59.95 bt. $339 00 any 6 bts. 1ère Trie
John Gilman: “96 rating ... blazing purity, stunning intensity
... laser-like presentation of its underlying terroir ... The
superb, vibrant bouquet roars from the glass in a blend of oranges, sweet grapefruit,
a beautiful base of soil tones, orange peel, a gentle touch of lanolin, very
discreet notes of honeycomb and a gently floral topnote. ... kaleidoscopic minerality
... striking soil inflection, and a nearly endless finish ...”
2008 Clos du Bourg Moelleux 1ère Trie
$59.95 bt. $339 00 any 6 bts. 1ère Trie
John Gilman: “95+ rating ... a magical bouquet of pink grapefruit,
honeycomb, apples, utterly refined and complex soil
tones, orange peel and a complex floral topnote that recalls both apple blossoms
and bee pollen. On the palate the wine is deep, pure, complex and fullbodied,
with a beautiful core of fruit, great focus and cut, bright acids and
outstanding length and grip on the supremely elegant finish.”
The Magic Starts
in the Vines ...
The greatness of today’s Huët wines is in part due to Gaston’s and Noël’s 1991 decision
to convert the entire domaine to biodynamic viticulture. At that time, no
domaine in France of greater stature had taken such a step.
Motivated by a desire to rid the vines of chemicals, the domaine established some
experimental biodynamic plots in Clos du Bourg in 1988. Yields and ripeness
remained roughly the same, but Noël and Gaston found that the wines produced
from bio plots had much more expressive personalities than the non-bio plots.
“”
... carrying on the traditions of
uncompromising brilliance ...
John Gilman on Huët today
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Anthony Hwang and Noël Pinguet in Le Haut-Lieu
In addition to allowing the domaine to avoid chemicals, biodynamic farming is
also thought to be anathema to phylloxera. And so the domaine has been working
quietly with traditional French rootstock (“Franc de Pied”), which many
believe produces highly distinctive wines. The results have been promising, and
most recently, the domaine has begun to plant vines on traditional rootstock,
which will be ready for production in a few years.
Harvest at the domaine is carried out entirely by hand, an uncommon practice
in the Loire.

If Raveneau Made Vouvray ...
Huët’s Knife-Edged, Profoundly Mineral Secs
“” Among the greatest dry white
wines made in the world
John Gilman on Huët’s Secs
Huët’s dry, mineral secs are the Loire’s answer to the elite wines of Chablis
and Meursault. There are three keys to this: they have the weight and texture
of Chardonnay, the piercing acidity of Chenin Blanc, and the intense
minerality of Vouvray’s soils. And the parallels with highly mineral white Burgundy
become even more pronounced with age.
The domaine’s secs are produced from their three legendary vineyards, and each is a
finely etched example of its respective terroir.
Two thousand nine was an epic vintage for the domaine, one that might rival
greats like 1989 and 1947. Don’t miss out.
2009 Le Haut-Lieu Sec............................... $25.95 bottle
Rich and long, oozing with ripe pears, and somewhat more supple than its stablemates.
A beautiful example of the softer approach of Le Haut-Lieu Sec.
2009 Clos du Bourg Sec.............................. $29.95 bottle
Very rich, hugely textured, with powerful flavors of white fruits and grapefruit
skin. A fabulous drink today, but surely capable of aging two decades.
2009 Le Mont Sec*..................................... $29.95 bottle
As intense as Bourg, but much more mineral and taut. If we can imagine drinking
any of these three in 2040, it would be this. A magnificent example of the
classic Huët style.
10% Discount on any 12 bottles of Huët Sec—Mix or Match
... and is Perfected
in the Cellar
While great wine is born in the vineyard, the decisions during winemaking—what
to do and what not to do—have a profound effect on what
ends up in the glass.
At Huët, winemaking is deeply embedded in history. In fact, little has changed in
the more than eighty years that wine has been made here.
All of Huët’s wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts in large, ancient
wooden barrels. Because of Chenin Blanc’s naturally high acidity, the wines rarely
undergo malolactic fermentation, which allows for their remarkable ageability.
The evolution of winemaking under Noël Pinguet has, according to John
Gilman, produced wines that are even “more refined, more elegant and more
crystalline” in their youth than previously, “without any loss of brilliance.”
Ancient barrels in Huët’s Cellar Noël Pinguet moving grapes to press
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Aged bottles of Domaine Huët’s Moelleux are
among the wine world’s greatest treasures. As
seductive as they are when young, with age they
gain complex aromas and flavors, the texture becomes
hypnotic, and the palate grows in opulence, all the while
retaining their thrilling signature of terroir.
Such an evolution depends, however, on perfect cellarage.
The surest bet for a great experience with an aged bottle
of Huët, therefore, is one that comes directly from the
1985 Clos du Bourg Moelleux
$69.95 limited
A magical wine now at its apex. The nose is revealing the ethereal complexity
of age, while the palate remains incredibly fresh and long.
Splendidly rich, yet powerfully mineral, a stunning bottle of Vouvray.
A Great Young
Huët Moelleux
More Gifts
1985 Moelleux Direct from Domaine Huët’s Cellar
Huët’s wines left to slumber in the domaine’s cool cellar.
domaine’s cold cellars. And that is the source for the
two Moelleux we’re honored to offer here: 1985 Clos
du Bourg and 1985 Le Mont.
Nineteen eighty-five was the richest Vouvray vintage
between 1976 and 1989. Jasper Morris calls it “a glorious
year for Chenin Blanc ... could prove to be a
vintage in the class of 1959 and 1964.”
These two pristinely cellared Moelleux are absolutely
classic and should not be missed.
1985 Le Mont Moelleux
$69.95 limited
In this vintage, we’re blown away by Le Mont’s tremendous length and
the way its spine of acidity and opulent mouthfeel reminds us of aged
Riesling. A spectacular example of this noble vineyard.
2008 Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux $39.95 bt. $460.00 cs.
John Gilman: “94 rating ... a very floral blend of apples, tangerines, pink grapefruit, bee pollen, apple blossoms, complex soil
tones and a topnote of grapefruit peel. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and very light on its feet, with beautiful
focus, lovely mid-palate depth, beautiful ripe, well-integrated acidity and a very long, very pure and dancing finish.”
THE RARE WINE CO.
21481 EIGHTH STREET EAST SONOMA, CA 95476 800-999-4342/707-996-4484 email us at sales@rarewineco.com
A u g u s t 1 7 , 2 0 1 0 - O N LI N E S P E C I A L ED I T I O N
Wines may be sold and delivered only to persons who are at least 21 years old. All wines are sold in California and title passes to the buyer in California. We make no representation to the legal rights of anyone to ship or import wines into any state outside of
California. We are not responsible for typographical errors. All items and prices subject to availability. Request a copy of our terms of sale or read them at www.rarewineco.com. * indicates pre-arrival. Issued 14 times yearly. © 2010 The Rare Wine Co.
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