Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Mont Demi-Sec 2023

Recognised since the 15th century as being one of the most distinguished sites in the appellation, Le Mont was also known locally as Perruches, a local name for the greenish-tinged clay soils flecked with perrons, fist-sized pebbles of flint. Purchased in 1957, the steep, rocky, eight-hectare vineyard lies on Vouvray’s esteemed Première Côte, part of a bank of limestone-rich hillside vineyards overlooking Tours. This block's argilo-siliceux soils (stony, with green, mineral clays and flint over limestone) provide the tight structure and pungent minerality Le Mont is renowned for. With less clay (and a different type of clay) and more stone than Le Haut-Lieu, this site typically produces the nerviest wines in the Huet stable, so this vineyard mainly produces dry and off-dry whites.

Huet’s demi-secs typically fall between 18 and 25 g/L residual sugar (give or take a few grams), but the acidity makes the wines appear only just off-dry. These wines manage finesse and diamond-cut clarity, yet they are somehow open and welcoming at the same time. At the table, these wines pair beautifully with the spices of many Asian cuisines but are also brilliant with French or modern Australian cooking (from seafood through game and white meats to cheese).