Nicolas Joly - Savennières Coulée-de-Serrant 2021

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Promising, with impetus, richness and vitality in the fruit; the finish asserts itself as the opening progresses on spicy rose and a saline touch.

About the domain :

La Coulée de Serrant is a wine-growing Eden, a place where life exults. Nicolas Joly, a pioneer of biodynamic viticulture, has made his wine a world-renowned brand. He can also count on the vision of his daughter Virginie to continue raising this estate to the top. Four hectares in Savennières and four hectares in Roche-Aux-Moines, a vineyard grazed by sheep, pecked by chickens, worked by hand, in symbiosis with nature. Observation, experimentation, model viticulture and a must-see estate.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

In 2021, the Joly family produced an admirable Coulée de Serrant, with a brilliant color and a devilishly complex, gourmet nose that, after a slight animal note, delivers deep aromas of bitter orange, white fruit, eucalyptus, tea and popcorn, against a backdrop of intense minerality, the hallmark of this great wine. This minerality also permeates the palate, which is very supple on the attack, full-bodied, rich and tender in its development, offering a silky touch and remarkable finesse, with a dash of vivacity on the finish that gives it energy and great length. Timeless.

About the domain :

This venerable 7-hectare vineyard, planted with old chenin vines clinging to schist slopes, was created by the Cistercians in 1130, and is one of the few monopoly appellations in France. Strengthened over the centuries by illustrious and crowned connoisseurs, its aura has taken on an international dimension since Nicolas Joly, the French "pope" of biodynamics, presides over its destiny, accompanied today by his daughter Virginie. The wine derives its original, unique character from grapes harvested at over-ripeness - or botrytized - in four or five passages. In the cellar, we don't use new wood to mask the terroir, but rather 500-l barrels. And as little intervention as possible.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the domain :

Nicolas Joly is now accompanied by his daughter Virginie. Without touching the father figure, we must admit that the wines have become more precise and delicate in recent years. La Coulée de Serrant is now at the height of the quality of its terroir. A schist terroir that gives the wine length, precision and subtle sparkle. The wines need time and, above all, aeration.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 2021 reveals a deep, complex bouquet with aromas of smoke, ripe orchard fruit, spices and spring flowers intermixed with a flinty character. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, it is well-balanced and more delicate than the 2018. Due to spring frost, only 11 hectoliters per hectare were produced.

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

About the wine:

We find its reserve combined with great power, mouthfeel, fatness and bitterness. A balance that challenges our taste habits, especially in this muscular vintage. To be laid down for at least 5 years.

About the domain :

The exceptional Coulée de Serrant vineyard stretches along the edge of a schistose cliff falling directly into the Loire, near Angers. The nature of the site and the quality of its exposure have enabled it to stand out from the crowd for centuries. Restored by Denise Joly in the 1960s, the estate was taken over by her son Nicolas. This brilliant agitator of ideas is a fundamentalist of biodynamic viticulture, which he has made his own at La Coulée de Serrant since 1981, when it was first certified. Nicolas Joly's daughter Virginie looks after the estate. While the latest vintages are endowed with a valiant intrinsic energy, aromatic deviations can spoil the purity that could be revealed by these mythical Loire terroirs.

Vinous A. Galloni

About the wine:

Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 2021 is a dry, floral Chenin Blanc produced from grapes harvested late, in three passages, of which around 1/10th were affected by botrytis. Biodynamically grown and vinified with minimal intervention, the resulting wine is intriguing and atypical. Rich golden in color, it offers a sensation of sweetness combined with honeyed fruit and the fullness of high alcohol. Low yields translate into intense concentration. This is a serious, structured style, with well-controlled phenols giving it grip and contributing to its length, while the season's lively acidity ensures freshness and tension. It's a much cleaner, less oxidative style in 2021, and that's to be welcomed. This will be a long-lasting wine that needs decanting.