Lots of interesting and good wines have been suggested in this thread. But the honest truth is there is no good substitute or comparable.
Has anyone here tried the Terroir al Limit whites? They sound like they are in the same vein, oxidative, traditionalist methods, etc.
I’ve tried one (and have two more in my cellar). Nothing alike.
Heredia’s “thing” is that they keep their wines in oak for years and years. Terroir al Límit’s Muscat is aged in stainless steel and Terra de Cuques in concrete tanks. They both see also 1-2 weeks of skin maceration, something LdH whites don’t see at all.
Pedra de Cuques might be the only one that could show a little bit of oxidation (consisting of 1/3 PX undergoing controlled oxidation and not any skin contact), but even that wine sounds quite different, as the wine ages for just two years in foudres and tonneaux (compared to Heredia’s 4-10 years in barriques).
But even if they aren’t in any way similar to LdH’s whites, they are still magnificent wines and definitely worth trying out!
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Remelluri whites does not possess oxidative qualities. But are very good in their own rights.
I don’t think the Monopole Classico uses any manzanilla. It’s a great little wine, but I think it’s being confused here with the Monopole Classico Gran Reserva, which is made in tiny amounts and has a minor addition of Manzanilla. It is different than LdH, but should appeal to the same palates.
I had no trouble finding the Gravonia this year, but it’s always at $40+ which seems to be normal for it these days. Should have loaded up on the Tondonia Blanco when it was that price…
As far as I have been told, the monopole clasico contains a touch of manzanilla. The regular monopole does not.
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Looks like I might be mistaken, though pressing Palomino and adding Manzaniila suggests a difference.
I should’ve kept on stocking when Gravonia was 13€, Tondonia Blanco was 20€ and Tondonia Blanco GR was 55€.
Yea, what were you thinking? Haha
Actually, I remember very well what I was thinking!
It was more or less along the lines of “These really are some of the greatest white wines I know, I can’t believe nobody is buying these because at these prices these are just phenomenal value! Lucky me they’re so available and cheap I can get more of them anytime I want.”
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And I didn’t read the warnings on the wall when all of a sudden the availability for Tondonia GR red and white dropped from good to zero almost overnight.
My greatest fear is something like that will happen to a producer like Huet.
If it was one or the other, I wish it was Huet. While Huet is a great producer, there are still tons of superb Chenin producers in Loire, whereas there are no substitutes for Heredia whites. No other producer makes their white wines in a style similar to Heredia’s.
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I’m actually surprised it hasn’t already considering the pricing of new releases of the culty Loire Chenin producers. I suspect that a bit of volume has helped Huet new releases remain reasonable. Get ‘em while the gettin’s good if you love them (as I do).
Old bottlings used to be reasonably priced too but not so much any more.
I’m guessing it’s the volume. They make a decent amount of wine - not unlike say J.J. Prum (which while there have been increases, have not gone bonkers).
It’s true (and I also wished I had way more Tondonia Reserva Blanco especially in the cellar-the more the better) although Huet is still the best IMO. And objectively no one else has the track record for aging and evolution in bottle if that’s what you are looking for—same as LdH in that sense.
I think the Gravonia is still a real bargain (is it allowed to say qpr?)
In some vintages I prefer it to the other LdH blancos
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That’s definitely a part of what I’m looking for. Enjoyment being the other, of course. I think @David_K2 makes a good point though, with Huet making 120,000 bottles a year maybe I shouldn’t be as worried about their pricing skyrocketing.
I have been lucky to find some back vintages at reasonable pricing, some 08 demis and 96 1er Trie. Wish it was more available, I think the next time we’re in Europe I’m going to do some serious hunting.
It still is, although it hurts me a bit to pay 200% more than what I paid only a few years ago. 
Same here.
Are you now talking about Loire Chenin’s track record for aging?
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