Domaine Nicolas Joly - Coulée-de-Serrant 2014

Bettane & Desseauve

About wine:

Root-like, with infused notes of fresh herbs, hay, and white flowers, this slender Chenin seems austere at this stage. Jansenist, withdrawn into its bitterness, it stands out with an agile tactile sensation and a dimension that will unfold over the years. Patience.

About the estate:

Eden viticole la Coulée de Serrant is a place where life exults. Nicolas Joly, a pioneer of biodynamics, has made his wine a brand recognized around the world. He can also count on the vision of his daughter Virginie to continue to raise this estate among the best. Four hectares in Savennières and four hectares in Roche-Aux-Moines, a vineyard grazed by sheep, pecked at by chickens, worked by hand, in harmony with nature. Observation, experimentation, model viticulture and an unmissable estate.

Guide Hachette des vins

About wine:

With a beautiful deep golden color, the 2014 "Coulée" presents itself in its classic robe, a sign of the overripeness sought by the Joly family with grapes marked by botrytis. On the nose, after a long aeration (always necessary for this wine), it displays a remarkable and evolving complexity: yellow plum, butter, honey, then verbena, fresh grass, a touch of menthol, cold stone... A soft and tender attack opens onto a very open palate (much more so than the 2013 at the same stage), powerful, dense, warm, supported by a slight smoky woodiness and that incomparable verticality with accents of the terroir that seem to plunge us into the center of the earth. A bottle that leaves no one indifferent, as always, still reserved in its youth and which only long aging will fully reveal.

About the estate:

This venerable 7-hectare vineyard planted with old Chenin vines clinging to schist slopes, created by Cistercian monks in 1130, is one of the few appellations in French viticulture to be under monopoly. Reinforced over the centuries by illustrious and crowned connoisseurs, its aura has taken on an international dimension since Nicolas Joly, the French "pope" of biodynamics, took charge of its destiny, accompanied today by his daughter Virginie. The wine derives its original and unique character from grapes harvested when overripe—even botrytized—in four or five passes. In the cellar, there is no new wood, which would mask the terroir, but 500-liter barrels. And as little intervention as possible.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the estate:

Nicolas Joly is now assisted by his daughter Virginie. Without detracting from her father's reputation, it must be said that the wines have become more precise and delicate in recent years. La Coulée de Serrant is now at the pinnacle of quality for its terroir. A schist terroir that gives the wine length, precision, and subtle brilliance. The wines need time and, above all, aeration.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About wine:

A few residual sugars do not diminish the salty vigor of the bitterness: a spicy profile with a slender structure in this wine with notes of kumquat, which seems to have gained in serenity and refinement, but is still austere and destined for glorious aging.

About the estate:

The exceptional Coulée de Serrant vineyard stretches along the edge of a schist cliff that drops directly into the Loire River, near Angers. The nature of the site and the quality of its exposure have allowed it to stand out for centuries. Restored by Denise Joly in the 1960s, the estate was taken over by her son Nicolas. This brilliant innovator is a fundamentalist of biodynamic cultivation, which he has practiced at Coulée de Serrant since 1981. A portion of botrytized grapes (more or less pronounced depending on the vintage) gives these exceptional whites a baroque complexity of aromas and a unique fullness. Nicolas Joly's daughter, Virginie, is now in charge of the estate. Some wines, such as the 2016 or 2019, can be flamboyant, sculpted by an impressive concentration of dry extract. Others, such as the 2020, lack precision, which leaves us perplexed. These wines require lengthy aeration and a serving temperature of around 12 degrees, so not too cool. They are even served at room temperature during tastings at the estate!