All But Immortal
2002 Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg Moelleux
Watershed Vintage - Perfectly Proportioned Chenins
Even those who didn't really care about Loire Chenin were forced to sit up and pay attention when the 02 Huets came out.
2002 was a watershed vintage at Domaine Huet - probably one of the three greatest in the last forty years, along with 1989 and 71. Here were integrated, elegant, bragging-with-dignity yet classy wines. The Moelleux, especially impressively, were almost perfectly proportioned.
And almost a decade in, they've really only gotten better.
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It's also about $20 below the lowest price in the nation. This is a considerable deal.
It proves, yet again (we've said this a thousand times): Huet's Moelleux are without a doubt in the category of the greatest and the most ageworthy sweet wines in the world, yet they come at simply ridiculous values for their quality.
Somewhere between the textured richness of Sauternes and the sleek clarity of higher-Prädikat Riesling (Auslesen, BAs and TBAs), Vouvray Moelleux are rounded, elegant and weighty, yet the greats (like Huet) are sculpted, styled, buoyed by their acidity.
These are wines that you can essentially open at any point in their development. Upon release, Huet's Moelleux are all fresh and aglow with succulent bright citrus. And with every year of age, each element weaves in and out of one another, so that the tapestry becomes more and more complex, mysterious, evocative. With time (say, 10, 20... 100 years) the sugar integrates into the wine and they become less sweet, more complex. Few wines marry the richness with the finesse in such an integrated, seamless fashion.
These wines are all but immortal, and they'll definitely improve for decades to come. Today, with pricing as sharp as it is, we strongly advise taking a supply to enjoy aptly.
To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
2002 Huet Moelleux arrives late 2011
NET | No further discount