Light amber color Intense aromas of tangerine/ beeswax and nutty oxidation Medium plus palate - dense wall of candied orange peel with dried floral character and slightly rancid nuts High acidity and high alcohol to my palate (15%) , which is driving this wine today - Medium plus finish Dry glass notes of nuts and honey This is drinking well now but could prob last for many years A contemplative wine, prob not the best with food IMO I am generally a fan of these wines, though I know opinion is quite divided - I did find this example to be slightly dominated by alcohol
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Single blind tasting Dark gold, unfiltered Aromatics medium +. Pleasantly oxidized notes of almonds, honey and honeycomb Palate medium. Acid high with a clear crescendo character. No phenolics. Alcohol medium + to high. Nuts, honey and bitter/burnt orange rind Finish has medium + length. Balance towards the alcohol, lacks fruit which for me drove the score down. Dry glass notes of nuts and honey Drink now Clearly a cerebral wine to enjoy/contemplate on its own
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smells like gasoline after opening, changes more into sweeter notes, caramel after 30 min. Very heavy wine, after some time honey notes, over ripe apples, can´t hide the high alcohol (15,5%). A special wine not for everyday consumption, but I found it quite intriguing. Not sure how the wine will develop.
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The wine looks yellow gold colored. It smells like diacetyl (butter). The legs are medium. It tastes like raisin. The body is medium/full. The wine has round texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has low acidity.
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Chenin study (et al.) (Chicago, IL): Far, far better than the really disgusting bottle of this I had last year, but that bottle was about as enjoyable as hanging out in a dumpster fire, so I guess it's not saying much. I've never understood these wines and I probably never will. The nose here is nice, with a mix of fruit and some generous floral tones. The palate, however, is pointless -- it's just a heaping pile of alcohol and aldehydic matter that sits on the palate and then leaves a bitter finish. Given this is a monopole I don't know if it's the dirt that's terrible or just the winemaking. I hope it's the latter.
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PNP into Luopai Wuguan universal glass, shaped like Zalto Universal ("Root" day). Clear, deep golden to the eyes.
Sweet honey notes upfront with very ripe golden apples and apricots, even some pineapples. Indeed quite 'lactic' for all the aromas. Some florals and roasted herbs. Reminds me of a slightly more refined style of the Sancerre by Sebastien Riffault tasted before
Really nice texture on palate, good acidity too. The minerality comes through towards the backend, but alcohol is high (15.5%) and this shows on the finish - a little too warming to my liking.
Utterly different from the 2001 tasted before with unique dried mandarin peels and truffle aromas (without notes). To me this is 90-91 points but I think this wine is destined to receive bifurcated reviews.
Will observe over longer term.
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Chenin at Table, Donkey and Stick (Chicago, IL): Undrinkable swill. The nose smells like slightly soured tofu. Zero discernible acidity. Sits on your palate with a pile of alcohol and organic solvent/floor cleaner. Disgusting.
I cannot really add much to the previous tasting notes. This is the first time I’ve ever tasted this wine. It is unique. There is some oxidation but it adds rather than detracts. There are floral notes, some stone fruit, minerals, and a nice acidity. Although it’s high in alcohol you would never realize it without looking at the label. I would agree with others who believe there are many years left for those of you lucky enough to have some in your cellars.
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Sourced straight from the winery. Double-decanted 48 hours before the tasting. Whopping 15,5% alcohol!
Rather deep bronze-toned straw-yellow color. Rich, complex and even a bit odd nose with slightly lactic aromas of sweet, honeyed floral tones, perfumed apple blossom, ripe yellow apples, some sourmilk - even some sourcream potato chips, a little bit of oxidative apple core character, a hint of crème brûlée and a touch of gummy bear candies. The wine is full-bodied, intense and highly complex on the palate with noticeable sense of concentration and very ripe yellow fruit flavors, dried pineapple, honeysuckle, some cloudberry jam, a little bit of leathery funk, a hint of toasty and slightly nutty character, a hint of almond paste and a touch of peach marmalade. The wine feels very powerful and intense with quite oily mouthfeel and surprisingly high acidity to stand against the power of the fruit. Surprisingly enough, the wine carries its ridiculously high alcohol surprisingly well. The finish is very rich, mouth-fillingly big and powerful with oily, almost quite viscous mouthfeel and very intense, ripe flavors of cloudberry jam, mirabelle plums, some smoke, a little bit of honeydew melon, a hint of stony minerality and a slightest touch of complex nuttiness.
Perhaps one of the biggest dry white wines I've ever tasted and, to my big surprise, the wine is strikingly balanced and harmonious for a wine of such size. There is remarkable power, intensity and concentration here, but even though the wine is obviously very ripe - practically overripe - and ridiculously high in alcohol, it does not come across as particularly warm and not even one but flabby. Although the wine is starting to show first signs of maturity, I feel that the wine is still very much far away from its plateau of maturity; there is definitely no need to pop any bottles open during the next 10 years! And even though so many people have said different things about the oxidation of Joly's wines, I didn't find much oxidation here beyond the obvious, somewhat waxy signs of oxidative winemaking. An expensive wine at 65€, but still more or less worth its price. Highly recommended.
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Coulee de Serrant can be a hit or miss, 2007 is a hit! A luxurious wine, matured at perfection. No sign of oxidation whatsoever. Botrytis was evident and fruit like apricot and quince was complimented by a fine minerality. Supple texture, very round in the mouth with alcohol at 15.5% not being noticeable at all. Makes you think it's a sweet wine, but it's dry. A unique wine. Sad it was my last bottle from this vintage.
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Starting downhill, I think. Opened with a very strong dry sherry nose, blew off as it opened up and because the funky luscious wine I was expecting. Drink up!
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Caldo, oleoso, quasi esotico. Curcuma, miele, crema pasticcera. La bocca è piena, foderante di vaniglia e tostatura del rovere. Tanto, troppo alcool e difficile bevibilità. Dopo un cucchiaio sei stufo.
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Golden colored. Rich and complex, there was an oxidative component that became less prominent as this was left open.Whiskey and apple notes on the nose transformed into apricot and honey notes over time. A bit of heat on the finish was the only distracting part of this deeply contemplative wine. Very unique.
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Fino sherry, sherry cask and orange peel on the nose. A medium weight body that is still quite tart, with a bracing finish that softens as the wine warms up. There are hazelnut notes and a botrytis dryness to the racy, lasting finish, as well. Intellectually interesting to see how this all holds in balance together, and admittedly unique, but not pleasing in a hedonistic sense.
Day 2: (room temperature) warmer and richer today. The nose has lemon and cognac notes, and for the first time, I get chenin blanc notes as well. Still medium bodied, the mouthfeel that I can only descibe as halfway between a sherry and a california chardonnay! Very smooth, still very fresh, and still mildly tart on the finish. More enjoyable but less personality.
So, I would decant 6-12 hours (rather than 2) before serving, or wait another 6-12 years before opening another of this vintage. Best guess - if I had another.
Feel like this is a different wine to the last experience, more pronounced nut oil, vanilla astringent lemon rind, with subtle macerated apples, at 15% alc the palate showed allot of it, finish was quite bitter and hot
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Deep gold in the glass. Big, bosomy nose of hay, honey, suede. Rich full mouthfeel of dried quince, alfalfa honey, and numerous other layers concealing the high alcohol. Acidity right were it should be. Simply gorgeous!
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A year after my first tasting notes, I would suggest the wine has improved further, being a even more graceful in terms of body. This has become one of my favorite all time white wines.
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Leo's Blind Tasting Group - Nov '14 edition (Txikito, NY): Another swing and a miss with Joly. The scent resembles something I'd expect from a Jura white with waxy, honeyed, floral, and nutty aromas - not especially unpleasant, just not my style - but again the palate is a disjointed mess with bitter alcoholic notes dominating, though there's at least a bit more fruit here than in the Clos Sacrés, which I disliked even more than this.
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It reminds me of a red wine with the body...I'm noticing the alcohol a bit (15%). It smells like plastic...but I like it. I'd like to drink this again.
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Color: Golden yellow Smell: Honey, bees wax, chamomile tea, yellow delicious apples, and mulled spices Taste: German rock sugar, baked apples, clove, brown sugar, ad a melange of rustic flavors that are difficult to put to words Overall: This is a wine of brilliance. It's complex, med-full body, high acidity, med- tannin, med+ fruit, and it's the sort of wine that takes time to understand as you sip it with a meal. Quite possibly one of the best bottlings of Coulée de Serrant that I've had to-date. Find it if you can...lucky you.
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A private dinner (Restaurant Fäviken, Järpen, Sweden): A whopping 15.5% ABV. Rich, golden colour; deep nose, dominated by ripe grapes and spicy honey, supported by minerals and chamomile, mature but not oxidative, comes close to an old Côte des Blancs champagne; the palate is very unusual but fascinating, with a sweet honeyed richness that almost drenches the firm core of mineral freshness and acidity, ripe yellow apple flavours; very good length. Weird but wonderful.
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Friday night wines at Thierry's place (Wellington, New Zealand): Thierry decanted this wine 36 hours before serving it and commented that it needed it. Light gold. An oxidative Chenin Blanc bouquet of honey, glycerol and toffee apple. Lovely acidity on the palate with beautiful viscosity. Flavours of honey comb, citrus, blanched almonds, slightly burnt crème brulee and apple pie. The wine shows a lot of structure and good length. The time open had subdued the 15.5% alcohol somewhat. An enjoyable, particular wine for the end of the meal.
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Blind tasting for my guest. Decanted a half hour. Golden hue turning to fall colors. Nose of oxydised apple, dried apricot, prune spirit, burned caramel. Mouth rich, on those baked apples, with scotch wiskey, ending on a vegetal bitterness : quinquina. Excellent in winter. But you can feal the unbalance of the alcohol.
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With about 3 hours of air, this Chenin blanc is a show-stopper. A bit off dry. This is what you'd expect from the grape on a very good day. It is too easy to drink this bottle.
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First jolly experience, personally I found the wine to be showing quite a bit of secondary notes, bruised apples, pie crust, macerated pears and hints of vanilla, palate was delicious, finished on a medium length with the acidity prevailing
Sadly this showed signs of seepage...HOWEVER...Wine Library has AMAZING customer service. So...all is well. They'll be covering the shipping to return and send me another bottle.
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Birthday Dinner (Browntrout - Chicago, IL): One of the better Joly wines I've had. Great texture and acidity. Had this really nice orange marmalade tone to it with subtle grassy and vanilla undertones.
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Deep honey gold in the glass. Citrus, honey, white flowers, apples, wet straw, and a host of other aromas on the nose. Looks and smells like a sweet wine, but it isn't. Rich palate of, well, everything described on the nose and then some. Missing some of the waxiness of other vintages, probably due to the 15% alcohol content (which otherwise doesn't show itself much at all). Alcohol blows off with a good "vigorous" decant. Good acidity. Long nutty marzipan beeswax hay finish. All in all, another triumph!
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Lots of Loires: I've had a number of Coulee de Serrants, but none younger than the 1997 before this one. I was completely unprepared for what appeared. Dark gold color, bordering on orange, I never expected the darkest white to be the youngest. The nose suggested a sweet wine, with honey, burnt sugar and some oxidation. The flavors are more of apple cider without the sweetness or sufficient acidity, with the 15+% alcohol expressed as richness but without too much heat.
A complete freak show of a Savennieres, the vinous equivalent of a monkey riding a unicycle juggling echidnas, I'm not sure I enjoyed it, but it was certainly an experience. Will it age? Who knows, but I suspect it will only become more deranged.
I'm having a difficult time rating this wine......Perhaps, as difficult a time as planning a food match with it. This wine is somewhat of an enigma. Initially, it came across as a full, ripe, yet an unusual wine. At one point through the evening, while still somewhat chilled, it actually tasted delicious. However, as it warmed up....it lost it's charm. This is a big....no...actually a HUGE wine. This wine needs to be paired with something equitably as huge. We were drinking the wine along with several cheeses. One was a Borgonzola. The wine was outstanding with this cheese. As well, I might pair it with a smoked meat of some type. Possibly smoked tenderloin of elk or venison. These are both large in character, yet would work in concert with the acidity and strength of this Chenin Blanc.
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Blind tasted, decanted. Golden brown hues suggested an older wine. Powerful aromas which indicated an oxidized wine: walnuts, caramelized apples, resin, butter. Unfortunately, the alcohol burns (15.5%) and the style is surely over the top but it is so intriguing with with medicinal flavors of essential oil concentration, rich, round, chestnut honey and dried apples. It is more like some aperitif liqueurs than a wine but what a great palate provoker! Thanks to GG for this one.
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Decanter 2h, as needed. Golden hue, fat leaking legs. Nose of brownishing caramel, oxidised apple, walnut, for some guests, baked brioche, buttery, ending on plums spirit. Mouth powerful and rich on the same flavours, fatty with the high percentage of alcohol, long end finishing with the bitterness of a chestnut honey. This dry wine is very concentrated, and complex. I do agree with Yiannis (a previous taster), it has to be drink on winter days, and I'll strongly recommend it on a spicy white meet dish.
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Nose of orange blossom, mulch, green herbs, quince, and stale lemon. A fairly restrained nose. But the palate explodes with honey, flowers, slate, lemon, quince, wax, wool, spice, and a light grapefruit. Huge palate and a little heat, but not out of place. Balanced! Hard to put down the glass....
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Drank with my friend "B. Dylan" while watching "The Bottle Schock" movie on DVD. Dark gold. Intense honey, beeswax, ripe apricot, baked apple, minerality, obvious late-picking character and hints of oxidation. Continuously evolving in the decanter. Full-bodied, dense with an oily texture, ultra-rich, ripe fruit, noticeable alcohol (over 15%!) but acidity is so high that could tame (i.e. balance) this beast. Very long and hot finish. Best sipped on its own, but avoid drinking this on a hot summer day (like we did!).
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I did not take detailed notes but was very impressed with this wine. Fruit, honey, and aromatic spices. Superb balance and length. Really a well presented ollafactory experience.
My experience with this appellation is not strong. So when I saw 5 bottles in the supermarket clearance cart marked for ten bucks, I just figured it was some knock off or high production mixed juice bottling. Stuck it in the fridge instead of the cellar for the next white wine dinner opportunity, with a bottle of Torrontes along side in case it was not palatable. I was impressed from the taster's first sip and decided to return to buy the rest. This morning I decided to check it out online and found the high scores as well as the $100 price tags. Well, there was a single bottle left, thankfully, when I returned and it is now inthe cellar for the right time.
A conversation wine. Weird in every sense and almost like a mild whisky rather than a wine. Very young and needs decanting for sure but it's like marmite... U either love it or hate it... We didn't love ir
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The wine's color is deep yellow and the medium+ intensity nose of green apple and candied lemons is ripe and interesting. The mouth is very unusual in that the attack is crisp, the midpalate is soft and a bit flabby, and then the finish is crisp and long again. The flavors echo the nose so it is nice but not super complex. The wine comes off as a mix of old and young vines at first. After 2 hours of air, the flabbiness in the middle went away and the wine came into balance. While drinkable now, my guess is that this wine will hold this way for many years. A unique wine that should appeal to many people.
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Golden yellow Aroma: citrus, minerals, raspberry and honey Full bodied and acidic. Very good sugar/acidity balance. Honey on the palate. Very good length
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The color is a dark gold, almost amber. First time drinking one of these and it's quite the experience. While chilled, the emphasis is on the minerals, lemon and apple. With a bit of warmth and air, however, this changes quickly, showing honey, canned pears, peach, spices and other interesting notes I can't quite nail down. This seems to have some of the botrytis-driven complexity of a good Sauternes, but without the residual sugar. The finish lingers for quite awhile. If you're looking for a crisp, clean, refreshing white, this probably isn't the best place to turn. And you can detect the smallest bit of heat on the finish if you're really looking for a flaw. But if you find the right occasion for it, this is fantastic and one of the more interesting dry whites I have had.
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Such wonderful length, and a vibrancy, these Joly wines seem to literally sing. Benefits from decanting. Minerals, hay, seafood (the wine tastes like shellfish). We drank this with Joly, and he doesnt want to talk about the wine, or analyze it; a sense impression, the feeling teh wine gives, is really the best way to describe it.
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A masterpiece. Beautiful gold colour. Nose full of fine minerality, honeysuckle, applejuice and quince. Amazing complexity, power and length. Great finesse. This is a wine to cheriss on its own. Not to drink very chiled.
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Honey yellow in colour. Nose shows honey, hay, poached pears, vanilla. Palate has more honey, pears, some peach, fruit compote, savoury custard. Very similar profile to the Clos de la Bergerie but at a higher intensity and with a fatter profile. Everything is in balance though and the wine is very "alive". Outstanding.
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8/11/2022 - fcxj wrote: 88 Points
Ripe, sweet. Have to admit I don't get these wines.
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11/6/2021 - cch1966 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep Gold. Notes of ripe apple, confit orange, honey and roasted nuts. Low acidity and semi sweet. Long finish.
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8/27/2021 - Kepos Likes this wine: 92 Points
very similar notes, not as alcoholic, lot of impressions, complex and good
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1/9/2021 - dsamuel Likes this wine: 90 Points
Light amber color
Intense aromas of tangerine/ beeswax and nutty oxidation
Medium plus palate - dense wall of candied orange peel with dried floral character and slightly rancid nuts
High acidity and high alcohol to my palate (15%) , which is driving this wine today - Medium plus finish
Dry glass notes of nuts and honey
This is drinking well now but could prob last for many years
A contemplative wine, prob not the best with food IMO
I am generally a fan of these wines, though I know opinion is quite divided - I did find this example to be slightly dominated by alcohol
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1/6/2021 - S.Wayne Likes this wine: 89 Points
Single blind tasting
Dark gold, unfiltered
Aromatics medium +. Pleasantly oxidized notes of almonds, honey and honeycomb
Palate medium. Acid high with a clear crescendo character. No phenolics. Alcohol medium + to high. Nuts, honey and bitter/burnt orange rind
Finish has medium + length. Balance towards the alcohol, lacks fruit which for me drove the score down.
Dry glass notes of nuts and honey
Drink now
Clearly a cerebral wine to enjoy/contemplate on its own
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6/7/2020 - BrunelloBob wrote: flawed
Nuts
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4/12/2020 - Kepos Likes this wine: 91 Points
smells like gasoline after opening, changes more into sweeter notes, caramel after 30 min. Very heavy wine, after some time honey notes, over ripe apples, can´t hide the high alcohol (15,5%). A special wine not for everyday consumption, but I found it quite intriguing. Not sure how the wine will develop.
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11/21/2019 - cdeco001 Likes this wine: 95 Points
The wine looks yellow gold colored. It smells like diacetyl (butter).
The legs are medium. It tastes like raisin. The body is medium/full. The wine has round texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has low acidity.
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6/16/2019 - acyso wrote: 80 Points
Chenin study (et al.) (Chicago, IL): Far, far better than the really disgusting bottle of this I had last year, but that bottle was about as enjoyable as hanging out in a dumpster fire, so I guess it's not saying much. I've never understood these wines and I probably never will. The nose here is nice, with a mix of fruit and some generous floral tones. The palate, however, is pointless -- it's just a heaping pile of alcohol and aldehydic matter that sits on the palate and then leaves a bitter finish. Given this is a monopole I don't know if it's the dirt that's terrible or just the winemaking. I hope it's the latter.
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11/22/2018 - HitAnyKey Likes this wine: 91 Points
Honey/apricot on the front, with a bit of herbal and mineral tones on the finish. Golden in color. Age showing through, but still has solid acidity.
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6/13/2018 - Tony Ling Likes this wine: 90 Points
PNP into Luopai Wuguan universal glass, shaped like Zalto Universal ("Root" day). Clear, deep golden to the eyes.
Sweet honey notes upfront with very ripe golden apples and apricots, even some pineapples. Indeed quite 'lactic' for all the aromas. Some florals and roasted herbs. Reminds me of a slightly more refined style of the Sancerre by Sebastien Riffault tasted before
Really nice texture on palate, good acidity too. The minerality comes through towards the backend, but alcohol is high (15.5%) and this shows on the finish - a little too warming to my liking.
Utterly different from the 2001 tasted before with unique dried mandarin peels and truffle aromas (without notes). To me this is 90-91 points but I think this wine is destined to receive bifurcated reviews.
Will observe over longer term.
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5/17/2018 - Yassine23 Likes this wine:
Deep gold. Dry wine. Honey, then apricot. Really interesting, powerful. Différent.
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5/14/2018 - acyso wrote: 60 Points
Chenin at Table, Donkey and Stick (Chicago, IL): Undrinkable swill. The nose smells like slightly soured tofu. Zero discernible acidity. Sits on your palate with a pile of alcohol and organic solvent/floor cleaner. Disgusting.
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2/27/2018 - tomlbs Likes this wine: 94 Points
I cannot really add much to the previous tasting notes. This is the first time I’ve ever tasted this wine. It is unique. There is some oxidation but it adds rather than detracts. There are floral notes, some stone fruit, minerals, and a nice acidity. Although it’s high in alcohol you would never realize it without looking at the label. I would agree with others who believe there are many years left for those of you lucky enough to have some in your cellars.
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1/14/2018 - cdeco001 Likes this wine: 94 Points
The wine looks yellow gold colored. The legs are slow. There is no sediment in the bottle. great taste, beautifull wine
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10/3/2017 - forceberry wrote: 96 Points
Sourced straight from the winery. Double-decanted 48 hours before the tasting. Whopping 15,5% alcohol!
Rather deep bronze-toned straw-yellow color. Rich, complex and even a bit odd nose with slightly lactic aromas of sweet, honeyed floral tones, perfumed apple blossom, ripe yellow apples, some sourmilk - even some sourcream potato chips, a little bit of oxidative apple core character, a hint of crème brûlée and a touch of gummy bear candies. The wine is full-bodied, intense and highly complex on the palate with noticeable sense of concentration and very ripe yellow fruit flavors, dried pineapple, honeysuckle, some cloudberry jam, a little bit of leathery funk, a hint of toasty and slightly nutty character, a hint of almond paste and a touch of peach marmalade. The wine feels very powerful and intense with quite oily mouthfeel and surprisingly high acidity to stand against the power of the fruit. Surprisingly enough, the wine carries its ridiculously high alcohol surprisingly well. The finish is very rich, mouth-fillingly big and powerful with oily, almost quite viscous mouthfeel and very intense, ripe flavors of cloudberry jam, mirabelle plums, some smoke, a little bit of honeydew melon, a hint of stony minerality and a slightest touch of complex nuttiness.
Perhaps one of the biggest dry white wines I've ever tasted and, to my big surprise, the wine is strikingly balanced and harmonious for a wine of such size. There is remarkable power, intensity and concentration here, but even though the wine is obviously very ripe - practically overripe - and ridiculously high in alcohol, it does not come across as particularly warm and not even one but flabby. Although the wine is starting to show first signs of maturity, I feel that the wine is still very much far away from its plateau of maturity; there is definitely no need to pop any bottles open during the next 10 years! And even though so many people have said different things about the oxidation of Joly's wines, I didn't find much oxidation here beyond the obvious, somewhat waxy signs of oxidative winemaking. An expensive wine at 65€, but still more or less worth its price. Highly recommended.
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9/10/2017 - Stefanos T. Likes this wine: 96 Points
Coulee de Serrant can be a hit or miss, 2007 is a hit!
A luxurious wine, matured at perfection. No sign of oxidation whatsoever.
Botrytis was evident and fruit like apricot and quince was complimented by a fine minerality. Supple texture, very round in the mouth with alcohol at 15.5% not being noticeable at all. Makes you think it's a sweet wine, but it's dry. A unique wine. Sad it was my last bottle from this vintage.
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3/5/2017 - Two Winos Likes this wine: 92 Points
Starting downhill, I think. Opened with a very strong dry sherry nose, blew off as it opened up and because the funky luscious wine I was expecting. Drink up!
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2/6/2017 - loloFR Likes this wine: 92 Points
Special wine (almost orange), with coing/aprikos fruit with a jura/oxydation style on top. Very good and well balanced. Not for everyone
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11/3/2016 - galenico Does not like this wine:
Caldo, oleoso, quasi esotico. Curcuma, miele, crema pasticcera.
La bocca è piena, foderante di vaniglia e tostatura del rovere. Tanto, troppo alcool e difficile bevibilità. Dopo un cucchiaio sei stufo.
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8/20/2016 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 90 Points
Golden colored. Rich and complex, there was an oxidative component that became less prominent as this was left open.Whiskey and apple notes on the nose transformed into apricot and honey notes over time. A bit of heat on the finish was the only distracting part of this deeply contemplative wine. Very unique.
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3/11/2016 - Zweder wrote:
MM’s belayed birthday; a mixed set of whites, reds, and sweet wines. (@ MM): In the bouquet honey, caramel, butterscotch and coffee. On the palate honey, a lot of oxidized impressions and a firm amount of bitterness. Very tasty and very special. The heat in the finish is a bit too much. No score.
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2/1/2016 - Zoomin Z Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fino sherry, sherry cask and orange peel on the nose. A medium weight body that is still quite tart, with a bracing finish that softens as the wine warms up. There are hazelnut notes and a botrytis dryness to the racy, lasting finish, as well. Intellectually interesting to see how this all holds in balance together, and admittedly unique, but not pleasing in a hedonistic sense.
Day 2: (room temperature) warmer and richer today. The nose has lemon and cognac notes, and for the first time, I get chenin blanc notes as well. Still medium bodied, the mouthfeel that I can only descibe as halfway between a sherry and a california chardonnay! Very smooth, still very fresh, and still mildly tart on the finish. More enjoyable but less personality.
So, I would decant 6-12 hours (rather than 2) before serving, or wait another 6-12 years before opening another of this vintage. Best guess - if I had another.
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12/29/2015 - Uglypinga Likes this wine:
Huet light. A bit oxidized but nice yellow honeyed fruit. Nice length a little short on the acid.
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4/18/2015 - theeb wrote: 94 Points
Frisch, vollmundig, würzig. Grossartig.
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4/3/2015 - Two Winos Likes this wine: 93 Points
Such a great wine. A must-try for Chenin Blanc lovers. I'm not an expert on them but I think this might be drinking at its peak now.
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4/3/2015 - Hazevedo wrote: 80 Points
- Yellow gold color - Worst than first. You can find an Australian or chilean white for 10$ better
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1/10/2015 - Good Stuff Does not like this wine: 85 Points
wine had turned by the time I got to it, not sure if it was my default as I did refrigerate them
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1/4/2015 - eoinhharkins wrote:
Feel like this is a different wine to the last experience, more pronounced nut oil, vanilla astringent lemon rind, with subtle macerated apples, at 15% alc the palate showed allot of it, finish was quite bitter and hot
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1/1/2015 - iByron Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep gold in the glass. Big, bosomy nose of hay, honey, suede. Rich full mouthfeel of dried quince, alfalfa honey, and numerous other layers concealing the high alcohol. Acidity right were it should be. Simply gorgeous!
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11/30/2014 - Iceman611 wrote: 94 Points
A year after my first tasting notes, I would suggest the wine has improved further, being a even more graceful in terms of body. This has become one of my favorite all time white wines.
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11/17/2014 - salil wrote: 73 Points
Leo's Blind Tasting Group - Nov '14 edition (Txikito, NY): Another swing and a miss with Joly. The scent resembles something I'd expect from a Jura white with waxy, honeyed, floral, and nutty aromas - not especially unpleasant, just not my style - but again the palate is a disjointed mess with bitter alcoholic notes dominating, though there's at least a bit more fruit here than in the Clos Sacrés, which I disliked even more than this.
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9/5/2014 - Bethany Severance wrote:
It reminds me of a red wine with the body...I'm noticing the alcohol a bit (15%). It smells like plastic...but I like it. I'd like to drink this again.
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9/5/2014 - Kirk Grant wrote:
Color: Golden yellow
Smell: Honey, bees wax, chamomile tea, yellow delicious apples, and mulled spices
Taste: German rock sugar, baked apples, clove, brown sugar, ad a melange of rustic flavors that are difficult to put to words
Overall: This is a wine of brilliance. It's complex, med-full body, high acidity, med- tannin, med+ fruit, and it's the sort of wine that takes time to understand as you sip it with a meal. Quite possibly one of the best bottlings of Coulée de Serrant that I've had to-date. Find it if you can...lucky you.
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7/19/2014 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
A private dinner (Restaurant Fäviken, Järpen, Sweden): A whopping 15.5% ABV. Rich, golden colour; deep nose, dominated by ripe grapes and spicy honey, supported by minerals and chamomile, mature but not oxidative, comes close to an old Côte des Blancs champagne; the palate is very unusual but fascinating, with a sweet honeyed richness that almost drenches the firm core of mineral freshness and acidity, ripe yellow apple flavours; very good length. Weird but wonderful.
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5/25/2014 - HowardNZ Likes this wine: 93 Points
Friday night wines at Thierry's place (Wellington, New Zealand): Thierry decanted this wine 36 hours before serving it and commented that it needed it. Light gold. An oxidative Chenin Blanc bouquet of honey, glycerol and toffee apple. Lovely acidity on the palate with beautiful viscosity. Flavours of honey comb, citrus, blanched almonds, slightly burnt crème brulee and apple pie. The wine shows a lot of structure and good length. The time open had subdued the 15.5% alcohol somewhat. An enjoyable, particular wine for the end of the meal.
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4/12/2014 - Vinomark wrote: 92 Points
Gorgeous, slightly oxidized which brought good sherry flavors to the floral, waxy, honey, almond with good acid flavors.
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1/5/2014 - Sharmajd wrote: 92 Points
- Yellow gold color and aromas of bell pepper and has flavours of mushroom and hazelnut.
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12/22/2013 - dead puddle wrote: 90 Points
Blind tasting for my guest. Decanted a half hour. Golden hue turning to fall colors. Nose of oxydised apple, dried apricot, prune spirit, burned caramel. Mouth rich, on those baked apples, with scotch wiskey, ending on a vegetal bitterness : quinquina. Excellent in winter. But you can feal the unbalance of the alcohol.
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11/24/2013 - Iceman611 wrote: 93 Points
With about 3 hours of air, this Chenin blanc is a show-stopper. A bit off dry. This is what you'd expect from the grape on a very good day. It is too easy to drink this bottle.
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7/13/2013 - eoinhharkins Likes this wine: 91 Points
First jolly experience, personally I found the wine to be showing quite a bit of secondary notes, bruised apples, pie crust, macerated pears and hints of vanilla, palate was delicious, finished on a medium length with the acidity prevailing
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6/12/2013 - Kirk Grant wrote: flawed
Sadly this showed signs of seepage...HOWEVER...Wine Library has AMAZING customer service. So...all is well. They'll be covering the shipping to return and send me another bottle.
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2/7/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Tooch's birthday dinner (Browntrout, Chicago IL): Nose: There is very good complexity to the nose with tones of biscuits, white fruits, pears, wax, and green apples.
Taste: Medium/full bodies with tart medium+ acidity. There is a roundness to the tones of biscuits, wax, green apples, and some lanolin.
Overall: This was my first experience with a Joly. It was a very enjoyable wine that was different from any savennieres I've had.
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2/7/2013 - tooch wrote: 91 Points
Birthday Dinner (Browntrout - Chicago, IL): One of the better Joly wines I've had. Great texture and acidity. Had this really nice orange marmalade tone to it with subtle grassy and vanilla undertones.
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10/29/2012 - iByron wrote: 91 Points
Deep honey gold in the glass. Citrus, honey, white flowers, apples, wet straw, and a host of other aromas on the nose. Looks and smells like a sweet wine, but it isn't. Rich palate of, well, everything described on the nose and then some. Missing some of the waxiness of other vintages, probably due to the 15% alcohol content (which otherwise doesn't show itself much at all). Alcohol blows off with a good "vigorous" decant. Good acidity. Long nutty marzipan beeswax hay finish. All in all, another triumph!
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8/13/2012 - MikeATL wrote:
Lots of Loires: I've had a number of Coulee de Serrants, but none younger than the 1997 before this one. I was completely unprepared for what appeared. Dark gold color, bordering on orange, I never expected the darkest white to be the youngest. The nose suggested a sweet wine, with honey, burnt sugar and some oxidation. The flavors are more of apple cider without the sweetness or sufficient acidity, with the 15+% alcohol expressed as richness but without too much heat.
A complete freak show of a Savennieres, the vinous equivalent of a monkey riding a unicycle juggling echidnas, I'm not sure I enjoyed it, but it was certainly an experience. Will it age? Who knows, but I suspect it will only become more deranged.
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1/30/2012 - SORC wrote:
I'm having a difficult time rating this wine......Perhaps, as difficult a time as planning a food match with it. This wine is somewhat of an enigma.
Initially, it came across as a full, ripe, yet an unusual wine. At one point through the evening, while still somewhat chilled, it actually tasted delicious. However, as it warmed up....it lost it's charm.
This is a big....no...actually a HUGE wine. This wine needs to be paired with something equitably as huge.
We were drinking the wine along with several cheeses. One was a Borgonzola. The wine was outstanding with this cheese. As well, I might pair it with a smoked meat of some type. Possibly smoked tenderloin of elk or venison. These are both large in character, yet would work in concert with the acidity and strength of this Chenin Blanc.
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12/27/2011 - theeb wrote: 93 Points
Goldgelb. Tiefgründige Nase mit leichten Hefenoten. Vollmundig, minimal oxydiert, wunderbar langer Abgang. Ausserordentlich.
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12/14/2011 - Capt Cutlass wrote: 93 Points
Blind tasted, decanted. Golden brown hues suggested an older wine. Powerful aromas which indicated an oxidized wine: walnuts, caramelized apples, resin, butter. Unfortunately, the alcohol burns (15.5%) and the style is surely over the top but it is so intriguing with with medicinal flavors of essential oil concentration, rich, round, chestnut honey and dried apples. It is more like some aperitif liqueurs than a wine but what a great palate provoker! Thanks to GG for this one.
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12/14/2011 - dead puddle wrote: 93 Points
Decanter 2h, as needed. Golden hue, fat leaking legs. Nose of brownishing caramel, oxidised apple, walnut, for some guests, baked brioche, buttery, ending on plums spirit. Mouth powerful and rich on the same flavours, fatty with the high percentage of alcohol, long end finishing with the bitterness of a chestnut honey. This dry wine is very concentrated, and complex. I do agree with Yiannis (a previous taster), it has to be drink on winter days, and I'll strongly recommend it on a spicy white meet dish.
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10/29/2011 - Vinsant wrote: 93 Points
Nose of orange blossom, mulch, green herbs, quince, and stale lemon. A fairly restrained nose. But the palate explodes with honey, flowers, slate, lemon, quince, wax, wool, spice, and a light grapefruit. Huge palate and a little heat, but not out of place. Balanced! Hard to put down the glass....
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10/3/2011 - richardhod wrote: flawed
spoiled from heat in transport, but still showed hints of its amazingness
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6/20/2011 - Yiannis wrote: 93 Points
Drank with my friend "B. Dylan" while watching "The Bottle Schock" movie on DVD. Dark gold. Intense honey, beeswax, ripe apricot, baked apple, minerality, obvious late-picking character and hints of oxidation. Continuously evolving in the decanter. Full-bodied, dense with an oily texture, ultra-rich, ripe fruit, noticeable alcohol (over 15%!) but acidity is so high that could tame (i.e. balance) this beast. Very long and hot finish. Best sipped on its own, but avoid drinking this on a hot summer day (like we did!).
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1/22/2011 - sonofabacchus wrote: 94 Points
I did not take detailed notes but was very impressed with this wine. Fruit, honey, and aromatic spices. Superb balance and length. Really a well presented ollafactory experience.
My experience with this appellation is not strong. So when I saw 5 bottles in the supermarket clearance cart marked for ten bucks, I just figured it was some knock off or high production mixed juice bottling. Stuck it in the fridge instead of the cellar for the next white wine dinner opportunity, with a bottle of Torrontes along side in case it was not palatable. I was impressed from the taster's first sip and decided to return to buy the rest. This morning I decided to check it out online and found the high scores as well as the $100 price tags. Well, there was a single bottle left, thankfully, when I returned and it is now inthe cellar for the right time.
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12/7/2010 - Papies wrote: 85 Points
A conversation wine. Weird in every sense and almost like a mild whisky rather than a wine. Very young and needs decanting for sure but it's like marmite... U either love it or hate it... We didn't love ir
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11/6/2010 - fclarity wrote: 90 Points
The wine's color is deep yellow and the medium+ intensity nose of green apple and candied lemons is ripe and interesting. The mouth is very unusual in that the attack is crisp, the midpalate is soft and a bit flabby, and then the finish is crisp and long again. The flavors echo the nose so it is nice but not super complex. The wine comes off as a mix of old and young vines at first. After 2 hours of air, the flabbiness in the middle went away and the wine came into balance. While drinkable now, my guess is that this wine will hold this way for many years. A unique wine that should appeal to many people.
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5/10/2010 - admid wrote: 92 Points
Golden yellow
Aroma: citrus, minerals, raspberry and honey
Full bodied and acidic. Very good sugar/acidity balance. Honey on the palate.
Very good length
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4/28/2010 - TheBusiness724 wrote: 93 Points
The color is a dark gold, almost amber. First time drinking one of these and it's quite the experience. While chilled, the emphasis is on the minerals, lemon and apple. With a bit of warmth and air, however, this changes quickly, showing honey, canned pears, peach, spices and other interesting notes I can't quite nail down. This seems to have some of the botrytis-driven complexity of a good Sauternes, but without the residual sugar. The finish lingers for quite awhile. If you're looking for a crisp, clean, refreshing white, this probably isn't the best place to turn. And you can detect the smallest bit of heat on the finish if you're really looking for a flaw. But if you find the right occasion for it, this is fantastic and one of the more interesting dry whites I have had.
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4/4/2010 - mwanasheria wrote: 91 Points
very mineral, well balanced, good structure. Lemon, quince, apple.
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3/9/2010 - kenito799 wrote: 91 Points
Such wonderful length, and a vibrancy, these Joly wines seem to literally sing. Benefits from decanting. Minerals, hay, seafood (the wine tastes like shellfish). We drank this with Joly, and he doesnt want to talk about the wine, or analyze it; a sense impression, the feeling teh wine gives, is really the best way to describe it.
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2/28/2010 - Stefanos T. wrote: 96 Points
A masterpiece. Beautiful gold colour. Nose full of fine minerality, honeysuckle, applejuice and quince. Amazing complexity, power and length. Great finesse. This is a wine to cheriss on its own. Not to drink very chiled.
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10/20/2009 - timbobmartin wrote:
Honey yellow in colour. Nose shows honey, hay, poached pears, vanilla. Palate has more honey, pears, some peach, fruit compote, savoury custard. Very similar profile to the Clos de la Bergerie but at a higher intensity and with a fatter profile. Everything is in balance though and the wine is very "alive". Outstanding.
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