95+ The 2019 Le Mont Sec from Domaine Huët is a touch riper than the Le Haut Lieu bottling, coming in at 13.5 percent, but still utterly classical in all respects. The beautifully refined and still quite youthful nose jumps from the glass in a blend of quince, green apple, beeswax, a kaleidoscopic bath of limestone minerality, a touch of orange peel, lanolin and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and utterly seamless, with again, stunning mid-palate depth and mineral drive, brisk acids and a very long, nascently complex and laser-like finish. This makes the youthfully reserved Le Haut Lieu Sec seem like a flamboyant and wide open wine, this is so buttoned up right now behind its perfect structural chassis. That said, I do not think I have ever tasted a young vintage of Le Mont Sec from Domaine Huët that possessed more potential, so just tuck it away for a decade and then let the fireworks begin!

94+ Again, Huet's 2019 Vouvray Le Mont Sec reflects the unique, south-facing nine-hectare vineyard with its pebbly flint (silex) and green clay soils wonderfully! Pure, fresh and flinty on the deep, intense yet also floral and herbal nose that represents a concentrated and firm white stone fruit aroma with lemon and grapefruit notes as well as fennel, anise and cumin hints. The bouquet gets darker and stonier with a lot of aeration (during days, to be honest). The leitmotif, though, remains the characteristic mix of aromatic fruit aromas with flint stone and volcanic basalt tones that, at this early stage and poured straight from the bottle, remind me of the Rieslings from Forst, Pfalz (Germany). In any case, this is like perfume on rocky stones! On the palate, Le Mont Sec is a rich, lush and round, very concentrated yet silky textured, elegant, vital and tightly structured 2019 with a powerful, intense and long finish with lingering salinity intertwined with tight, perhaps slightly dry tannins. I recommend cellaring this round yet tight and concentrated Chenin for a decade and then drinking it slowly over many years and with, hopefully, even better integrated tannins. 13.5% alcohol. 30,000 bottles made. Tasted in July 2020. - SR

Complex and pure, with just enough ripeness to balance the bracing minerality and acidity. Quite expressive and muscular, with a core of persimmon, kumquat and spice notes allied to a racy spine that lengthens the long, pure finish, where blanched almond notes emerge. Built to age. Best from 2022 through 2034. 4,000 cases made. — AZ