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

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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. | 3 | 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.” | 4 |
Page 1 and 2: THE RARE WINE CO. NEWSLETTER SPECIA
Page 3: Vouvray’s Son Gaston Huët, 1910-
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