Touraine
Touraine is famous for the Cabernet Francs of Bourgueil, Chinon and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, as well as for the dry, sweet and sparkling Chenin Blanc wines of Vouvray and Montlouis. The bulk of the region's wines are produced under the Sauvignon de Touraine appellation, a good-value Loire Sauvignon Blanc produced on sandy, undulating clay flats between the Cher and Indre tributaries.
Located around the central city of Tours, Touraine is famous for the Cabernet Francs of Bourgueil, Chinon and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, as well as for the dry, sweet and sparkling Chenin Blanc wines of Vouvray and Montlouis.
The bulk of the region's wines are produced under the Sauvignon de Touraine appellation, a good-value Loire Sauvignon Blanc produced on sandy, undulating clay flats between the Cher and Indre tributaries. Reds are also made from Côt (Malbec), Cabernet Franc and Gamay.
Recommended producers: Domaine Jean-Marie Penet, Jacky Blot
Prices:
H/Bottle
£8.50
H/Bottle 12 x 37.5cl 18cs
Bottle
£11.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 10cs
Bottle
£11.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 3cs
Bottle
£12.25
Bottle 12 x 75cl 13cs
For all that, the wine has a dynamism and energy which is hard not to appreciate, its red-fruit core finely balanced by spice and firm, almost chalky tannins. The additional bottle-age on this particular wine has added an extra dimension, in the form of notes of game and sous-bois, both discrete and supportive of the ensemble.
Bottle
£14.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 35cs
Bottle
£14.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 23cs
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 7cs
Bottle
£21.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 4cs
Bottle
£24.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
Bottle
£27.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 10cs
Burnished gold in colour, the nose is full of spiced orange, cloves, a touch of quince and lemon rind, and hints of anise. This wine is lovely and mouth-filling and yet has surprisingly high acidity and a dryness that gives the wine a beautiful mouth-watering snap.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle
£117.00
An intense gold colour, there is plenty on offer on the nose: lanolin, caramel and apple crumble to name but a few notes. Gloriously honeyed on the palate, there is a streak of vibrant freshness that stops any cloying sweetness. The finish is incredibly long and persistent. Wonderful!
Chris Pollington, Account Manager
First things first – 1989 is a stunning vintage, one of the best in the 20th Century for the Huet wines. Essai relates to a 1ha vineyard parcel of Le Clos du Bourg which the Huet family decided to apply biodynamic principles. There is a distinctly greater level of development and general largesse to the palate here over the ‘usual’ 1989 Moelleux. This is an expansive and mouth filling wine, lusciously sweet and tropical this has decades of age ahead of it but perfectly balanced meaning it can be enjoyed now. .
Gary Owen, Account Manager
Bottle
£160.00
This is a jam-packed glassful with waxy lemons and fresh orange peel on the nose, then a bitter toffee character. The combination of ripe nectarine sweetness with refreshing acidity delivers a perfectly judged and beautifully balanced wine. Quite simply, you can taste the care taken in producing this wine.
Bottle
£170.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 2cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 3 x 150cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
A big, deep, rich honeyed bouquet leaps from the glass. The palate is, unsurprisingly, youthful, but is also wonderfully luscious. There’s plenty of sweet, mouth-filling fruit and enough acidity to make one involuntarily drool. Drink it now or tuck away for decades.
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 3 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Fine Wine Team
There was a much smaller quantity of the 1945 wines made due to frosts for eight days in May. It would seem this concentrated the quality and the finest rounds of natural selection took place as what was left has made astonishingly fantastic wine. The nose is a tumult of preserved and lightly caramelised lemons. Beneath this there is layer upon layer of complex white nuts and subtle dairy, almost creaminess framed by a focussed subtle dryness.
Gary Owen, Account Manager
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
(David Berry Green)
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
1989 Vouvray, Le Haut-Lieu, Moelleux, Domaine Huet
1989 Vouvray, Le Mont Moelleux, Première Trie, Domaine Huet
1989 Vouvray, Le Mont, Moelleux, Fin Pressée, Domaine Huet
1989 Vouvray, Le Clos du Bourg, Moelleux Essai, Domaine Huet
1989 Vouvray, Haut Lieu, Moelleux, Première Trie, Domaine Huet
Assrt x 6 1 x 450cl 1cs
Laura Atkinson - Private Account Manager
A lustrous, burnt gold colour. Plenty of baked Bramley apple and lanolin on the nose, with a touch of wet grass as well. Beautifully balanced between freshness and a touch of sweetness. Developed yes, but remarkably youthful as well. This is a remarkable wine, especially when you consider all that was going on around it in 1945.
Fergus Stewart - Private Account Manager
This masterpiece shows a lush and altogether rather gorgeous side to it which develops into something firmer. It’s one of those extraordinary wines that keeps evolving while you taste it, lush then firm then lush, closing off with a very assured finish that lingers on and on. Truly victorious.
Tom Cave, Cellar Plan Manager
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Magnum 6 x 150cl 1cs