Nicolas Joly - Savennières Coulée de Serrant 2022

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

La Coulée de Serrant is a winegrowing 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:

This rare Coulée de Serrant, with its 32 g/l residual sugar content, is a mellow version born of semi-late harvesting, with some 10% noble rot. A Coulée out of the ordinary: only three vintages had so far produced this type of "gentle" vinification; 2022, a year of great ripeness and concentration, lent itself perfectly to the exercise. And it suits it devilishly well! The color is finely golden, with a beautiful brilliance. On the nose, fresh, mineral notes of wet pebbles emerge first, followed by sweeter aromas of candied orange and pear, buttered brioche, honey and smoke. A complexity that is enhanced by quince, dried fruit and a hint of oxidation in a full, deep, caressing palate of rare delicacy. Certainly a Coulée on the sweet side, but more reminiscent of a "sec tendre" than a "moelleux" as it exudes freshness with its mineral tones and fine bitters stimulating the finish. Atypical and stunning.

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 biodynamic viticulture, 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:

The estate has crafted delicate demi-sec wines (32 grams residual sugar), revealing aromas of pear, spice, white flowers, exotic fruit and white pepper, followed by a medium-weighted, round and balanced palate, culminating in a long, penetrating finish.

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

About the wine:

Only the Coulée de Serrant, a mellow wine that year, stood out. Behind its soft texture, a bitter force gives it its inimitable personality. This deep wine promises a future full of strength and wisdom, albeit with a lack of aromatic precision.

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.