Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulee de Serrant Dinner
Summer Pavilion, Ritz Carlton, Singapore
Tasted Saturday, October 13, 2018 by Paul S with 85 views
Introduction
Our Loire group gathered again - this time with a focus on Nicolas Joly's iconic Chenin Blancs from the Clos de la Coulee de Serrant vineyard - perhaps the most famous Chenin Blanc in the world.
A small 7 hectare monopole in Savennieres owned by the Joly family, the Clos de la Coulee de Serrant is a vineyard with its own AOC. Chenin Blanc has been growned here since the vineyard was first planted by Cistercian monks way back in 1130 AD, and the wines produced from this fabled plot have been praised for centuries.
Today, the Chenin Blanc from Coulee de Serrant is probably known less for its historical pedigree than for the singular winemaking philosophy of its winemaker, Nicolas Joly - Joly, of course, is one of the forerunners and greatest proponents of biodynamic winemaking.
This does mean that the wines can vary greatly from year to year, from fresh and lively, to darker and more oxidative. There is a thread that runs through the wines though. They are great expressions of Chenin Blanc, with a richness in the mouth wed to impeccable fresh balance at their best, and lovely notes of apple, honey and lanolin, often accompanied by a more exotic nutmeg tone. I am not a fan of the more oxidative bottles, but when these wines are on song, they are amongst the greatest white wines of the Loire.
The wines were tasted blind, with a couple of ringers thrown in as a control.
2009 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 92 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant
A nice start to the night - this was a good bottle. It started out with a lovely nose, with plenty of flinty mineral, alongside classic notes of lanolin and chalk, and then apple, pink guava and a hint of preserved nutmeg. An entrancing nose, with a lovely suggestion of dried fruit sweetness to it. Nice. The palate was very fresh, with a lemon zesty acidity running through notes of warm spice and nutmeg again, all riding on base of apple fruit. There was a nice mature depth to this, which was all well supported by that bright acidity and a nice spine of minerality that led into a neat finish. A very compact, characterful and delicious wine. Nice mature depth. Drinking quite well now.
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2006 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant
This was really nice - a little step up from the slightly less complex 2009 on the same flight. It showed a much more matured nose, with a little touch of funk and an earthier mineral tone wafting about a core of light honey and lanolin notes, and then little drifts of nutmeg and rubber seed aromas floating around the edges. A rather less sweetly fruited, more overtly mineral bouquet than on the 2009 I thought. It was on the palate where this really showed its mettle though. It had full, honeyed attack, with notes of sweet persevered limes and lemon peel, which were then backed up by a leaner spine pf acid and minerality spine on the midpalate. There was beautiful clarity on the wine, and a certain sense of litheness that made it a delight both to drink on its own, and as a pairing for food. While it may have lacked some of the round deliciousness of some of the Coulee de Serrant bottlings on the night, it really excelled in its cut and definition. Great finish too, ending with a lift of citrus acidity, and a long mineral deliciousness. A lovely wine, drinking well on the night.
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2009 Nicolas Joly Savennières Roche aux Moines Clos de la Bergerie 91 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières Roche aux Moines
Not quite as singular or challenging as the trio from Joly's Clos de la Coulee de Serrant on the same flight, but this was really quite enjoyable in its own right. It had a nice nose, with flinty mineral and gentle earthiness shading notes of apple and lanolin, orange blossoms, and something sweeter that reminded me of nutmeg in syrup. The palate was delicious. Fresh and plucky, yet also very complete and full, it had nicely transparent apple and lemon flavours, all showing an easygoing elegance and an impeccable sense of balance. Decent finish too, with a kiss of spice at the end. Not the most complex of wines, and this was certainly lighter than the Coulee de Serrant bottles, but I loved the clarity and effortless elegance on it.
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1984 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant Flawed
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant
TCA. Sadly so. Tragic cardboard aromas aside, it actually had an interesting nose, with mushroom and chrysanthemum, a waft of sweet, slightly browning overripe apples, and then your typical lanolin notes. The palate was where the corkiness really came out though, with scalped, truncated flavours of honey and yellow fruit fading into a short, damp cardboard ending. Pity. This was still well cut and defined, with a real minerally toughness that still gave it a sense of grief and structure. Great acidity too. I would have loved to try a healthy bottle.
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2002 Domaine des Baumard Savennières Clos du Papillon 92 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
Lovely - this was significantly better than the last bottle I had in 2011. The ringer in the midst of a line-up of Nicolas Joly's Coulee de Serrants, this clearly stood out as being different. It had drier, fresher character to it on the palate I thought. The nose was quite different from the Joly wines as well, but in a different fashion. Here, it was somewhat thicker and earthier - with notes of Swiss brown mushrooms, chalk, and a bit of funk that almost suggested hard cheeses, and then more honeyed tones, along with apple, lychee creme and some florals. Intriguing stuff - I liked the nose quite a bit. The palate was had a rather different tone. Less sweet, very mineral, with a super-dry feel to its lime and lemon peel notes, all cut through with a laser-like beam of fish acidity and mineral that gave the wine a superb sense of cut and clarity. Good long finish too, full of spice and mineral. A very nice showing, and great with our food.
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2004 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 91 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant
A nice wine, but somehow not quite as compelling as either the 2006 or 2009 that we drank together. The nose was a little reductive at first, only slowly opening up to show nice notes of apples and lychee, lanolin and mineral, all these laced with a little nutty accent, and then a slightly wild brambly note that came up over time. Pretty nice. The palate was rich and nutty, almost with an almond cream lilt to it, and then typical notes of lanolin, apple and honey, shading into riper, yellow fruit territory. Good finish too, with a gentle length of spice and mineral running along behind. A nice wine by any measure, and blessedly devoid of any oxidation. Its problem was that it lacked some of the oomph and complexity of its two younger siblings on the night.
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1995 Nicolas Joly Moelleux Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières-Coulée de Serrant
Good stuff. My palate was a little tired after all the Chenin Blanc that came before, but this still managed to stand out as one of the best wines on the night. It had a really pretty nose, with the sweet honeyed aromas of botrytis alongside typical Chenin tones of lanolin, lemons and apples. Very attractive. The palate was nicely rich. It had a lovely juiciness that made it gave it the impression of being just off-dry at first blush, but there was certainly a lovely sweet depth that emerged with time, along with a botrytis-influenced thickness to its flavours of apples, lime peel and lanolin. There was just a lovely balance to it throughout though, with a nice spice of acid and mineral that carried the wine into a long finish, where an interesting little hint of herb came out as well. Very nice, and probably will get better as it puts on complexity over the next decade and beyond.
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