Nicolas Joly - Savennières Coulée-de-Serrant 2018 (Magnum)

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Full of vitality, with a maturity reminiscent of the 2018 vintage, this free-spirited wine allows the terroir to shine through. The finish is remarkably dynamic, with exceptional length.

About the estate:

The Coulée de Serrant wine estate is a place where life flourishes. Nicolas Joly, a pioneer of biodynamics, has made his wine a brand recognized around the world. He can also count on the vision of his daughter Virginie to continue elevating this estate among the very best. Four hectares in Savennières and four hectares in Roche-Aux-Moines—a vineyard grazed by sheep, pecked at by chickens, tended by human hands, in harmony with nature. Observation, experimentation, exemplary viticulture, and an essential estate.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

With a beautiful golden yellow hue, this 2018 Coulée offers a nose of great delicacy, opening with floral, mineral (warm flint), and citrus notes. As it breathes, aromas of fresh grass, menthol, puffed rice, quince, and pear emerge. A fresh yet silky attack leads to a palate of great suppleness—caressing and creamy—supported by a subtle minerality; here we find that note of bitter orange so often present in this wine, lingering into a long finish. The 888th vintage for Serrant’s Coulée and a sense of eternity.

About the estate:

This venerable 7-hectare vineyard, planted with old Chenin vines clinging to schist-covered hillsides and established by the Cistercians in 1130, is one of the few single-estate appellations in the French wine region. Bolstered over the centuries by illustrious and crowned connoisseurs, its reputation has taken on an international dimension since Nicolas Joly, the French “pope” of biodynamics, took the helm, now joined by his daughter Virginie. The wine derives its original and unique character from grapes harvested when overripe—or even botrytised—in four or five passes. In the cellar, no new oak is used, as it would mask the terroir, but rather 500-liter barrels. And as little intervention as possible.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the estate:

Nicolas Joly is now joined by his daughter Virginie. Without taking anything away from his father’s legacy, it must be said that the wines have become more refined and delicate in recent years. La Coulée de Serrant has thus reached the pinnacle of quality for its terroir—a schist-based terroir that lends the wine length, precision, and subtle brilliance. These wines require time and, above all, aeration.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

Harvested in five passes with higher-than-average yields (24 hectoliters per hectare) and approximately 8% botrytis, the 2018 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant, with its intense yellow color, opens with a bright, refined and subtly scented with flint, featuring aromas of ripe, aromatic fruit, fresh and elegant notes of herbs and schist, and remarkable freshness—not only for the 2018 vintage, which was at times scorching hot, but also for this epic wine in general. Generous and broad on the palate, elegant and flawless, with lush yet concentrated fruit and a velvety texture thanks to fine but firm tannins, this is an excellent and persistent Coulée de Serrant that is already approachable and finishes with a long, salty, and striking finish featuring stimulating bitterness and fresh phenols. The 2018 is incredibly refined and subtly salty.

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

About the wine:

This extraordinary 2018 vintage needs a few years of cellaring before it truly reveals itself. Its intensity creates a sensation of a hot torrent on the palate, followed by a gentle river, unfolding with a bewildering array of flavors—some bold, yet all possessing an extraordinary character. A white wine built for aging, best aerated for a long time and served in a decanter.

About the estate:

The exceptional vineyard of La Coulée de Serrant stretches along the edge of a schist cliff that drops straight into the Loire River, near Angers. The unique terroir and the quality of its exposure have set it apart for centuries. Restored by Denise Joly in the 1960s, the estate was taken over by her son Nicolas. This brilliant innovator is a staunch advocate of biodynamic farming, which he has practiced at La Coulée de Serrant since 1981. A portion of botrytized grapes (more or less pronounced depending on the vintage) lends a baroque complexity of aromas and a singular richness to these extraordinary whites. Nicolas Joly’s daughter, Virginie, is now in charge of the estate. Some wines, such as the 2016 or 2019 vintages, can be flamboyant, shaped by an impressive concentration of dry extract. Others, such as the 2020, lack precision, which leaves us perplexed. These wines require extensive aeration and a serving temperature of around 12 degrees—not too cool, in other words. They are even served at room temperature during tastings at the estate!

Jancis Robinson