Coulée de Serrant-a-thon: 1967 - 1990.

Fifteen years ago, bottles of Coulée de Serrant would regularly find their way to local wine gatherings. Indeed, bottles from 1981 through 1990 were not hard to find in the NYC area and were not particularly expensive. That changed quickly as by about 2002, wines from those vintages largely disappeared and the prices shot up. Needless to say, finding these wines at dinners became few and far between.

I have to confess that while I liked some of these wines from Joly's pre-oxidative style era, for the most part, I wasn't particularly impressed by them. However, my palate has changed a bit since then and I was curious about how the wines from that time period may have fared with fifteen more years of age on them. Using a bottle of '67 from the domaine, made by Denise Joly, Nicolas's mother, as a lure, I was joined by Pascaline Lepeltier, Don Rice, John Gilman, Marco Defreitas and Jeff Connell for a wonderful and revealing dinner at Racines.

Time has been more than kind to these wines and it's clear that I do have a much greater appreciation for them. I think the greatest takeaway from the tasting was the remarkably similar profile the wines showed. The real difference was more in the structure with only slight variations in the levels of yellow fruits, citrus, honeycomb and mineral they showed. Additionally, the wines from this era were clearly built to age. All of them were fresh and in no danger of decline and all improved with air. I have to admit that the wines really exceeded my expectations and that's what makes dinners like these so useful and fun.

• 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Not an intact bottle, unfortunately. Not tca, but there was a thick white fungus under the capsule and the wine was dominated by an extremely wooly and mushroomy character throughout the nose and palate. Still youthful and showing terrific structure, but despite plenty of airtime, the fruit never got going.  A shame, as it's a beautiful wine when on. NR

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• 1990 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant

  Smells and tastes like yellow, with a wealth of quince, ginger, pineapple and mineral flavors and aromas.  It's expansive and rich across the palate with present, but subdued acids lending to a rich mouthfeel.  There's just a bit of an oxidized note, but nothing to get worked up over. The fruit grew nicely with air and there's just a touch of alcohol showing on the finish.  A lovely showing. A-.

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• 1989 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant

  Similar to the '90 with its yellow fruited and mineral character, with just a hint of lanolin and mushroom, but there's more depth and precision here. It shows wonderful elegance with crisp acids adding vibrancy and focus. This had always been my favorite vintage prior to Joly's change to a more oxidative style in the mid-'90s and it tied for my WOTN. Solid A .

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• 1988 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant

  This was a favorite of the structure fans as it exhibited the lean and rather severe personality of the vintage. Big times acids with tart yellow and green citrus notes, star fruit, green herbs and mineral make for a racy, if imperfect wine that Jeff calls, "beautiful for all its faults." Wonderfully zippy, but it could use just a bit more flesh on its bones. A-/B+

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• 1985 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant

  A touch of spritz on the palate when first opened had us worried that it may have undergone secondary fermentation, but the wine settled down and showed beautifully with air. Bone dry, crisp and quite similar in profile to the '88 with its green and yellow citrus and mineral character, but the mineral is more flinty and there's an intriguing tarragon note to it. Additionally, there's a little more flesh and roundness to the wine, making it a bit friendlier. A-.

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• 1983 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant

  This continued the theme of being similar, yet with subtle differences. The wine initially showed some sulfur on the nose, but it blew off with air. The fruit is a bit more yellow and upfront here than in the '88 or '85 and shows a little bit of botrytis character and honeycomb to go along with refreshing citrus, botanical and stony notes. Big time acid structure, but the riper fruit makes it a touch more generous and appealing than the previous two wines. A-.

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• 1967 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant

  The most complete and integrated wine of the evening and interesting to note that it was not made by Nicolas, but by his mother. It's remarkably consistent with the other wines in its yellow fruited, citrus, herb, honeycomb and mineral profile, but the wine's mouthfeel was completely different and had a wonderful creaminess and softness to it that caressed the palate. The acids were not as sharp and the citrus lacked some of the bitterness it showed in the other vintages. Complex, long abd in no danger of falling off. Gorgeous wine. Solid A.

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The group.


The wines.


The fungus under the capsule of the '89 Huet.