Huet Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux 1ere Trie 2020 (750ML)

97-98 WA / 97 WS / 97 JS / DE 95 / 94 VM

#65 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of France 2023

The intensely yellow colored 2020 Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux Première Trie is highly concentrated and complex on the nose that exhibits candied lemon zest and chutney aromas along with calcareous and walnut notes. Sweet (really sweet!) yet refined and elegant on the palate, this is a full-bodied, rich and generous yet piquant and firmly structured, greatly tensioned and salty 1ère Trie with pineapple flavors on the finely tannic and energetic, very sustainable finish. The 2020 has great aging potential, and I would never serve it too young. When will it really start to show its best? I don't know, but you can’t go wrong to check the wine again after 10 years. Tasted as a final sample shortly before bottling in May 2021. --Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate

Showy but still elegant and refined, this beautiful wine binds together yellow fig compote, glazed white peach and crystalized ginger notes with details of green tea, blanched almond, verbena and honeysuckle. Harmonious, with tremendous length, kept lively by vivid acidity. Drink now through 2040. 1,000 cases made. - Wine Spectator

The expansive spectrum of dried stone-fruit, candied-citrus and fresh-melon aromas beautifully fill out the rich and luscious palate of this precisely balanced Vouvray. Great honeyed and mineral depth at the imposing finish. Enormous aging potential! From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.--James Suckling

Enriched with 71g/L of residual sugar, the profile is quite fruity in a classic, less exotic style, offering scents of apricot, white peach and orange. Aeration adds more complex layers, notably a subtle florality (camomile, jasmine and verbena). The palate is concentrated but balanced and an impression of verticality is provided by the wine’s underlying backbone and its mineral and mint-infused freshness. A textbook wine from Huet.--YC, Decanter

Boasting 91g/L residual sugar, Le Mont's 2020 Première Trie offers additional sweetness as well as lower acidity compared with the Haut-Lieu Première Trie. As a result, this cuvée inevitably has a sense of additional richness and weight on the palate. It's balanced, but the richness means it has had to trade in some of its energy and finesse. Offering orange peel, apricot jam, floral essences and apple sauce, it's satisfying and nourishing, but I'd like more direction and purpose on the finish. That said, this is still a well-crafted and carefully made wine.-- Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media