2008 Coulee de Serrant

Note that alcohol level! This is from the big biodynamic proselytiser – though I thought BD meant you could pick perfectly ripe grapes quite early...? Dark gold. Smells quite different from the rest. Honey and wild flowers and real energy. Yes, well done! Good acidity too. This works, even though you would have to be very careful when drinking such a strong wine. Lots of energy, great finish. I was very disappointed by many wines from this domaine early in their BD adventure but this is impressive, if a little yeasty. (JR)

Joly’s 2008 Savennieres Coulee de Serrant is a slightly brighter shade of gold than its two stable mates. A fascinating nose of oceanic salinity and alkalinity; citrus oils, celery seed, and hints of poultry and shellfish stock leads to a palate of intense phenolic concentration, with chewy fruit skin and bitter citrus rind reinforced by the power of 15% alcohol, a level that is by no means inherently or always deleterious, but which in this instance renders the finish downright rough, drying, and gum-smarting, subverting an undeniably intriguing if illusive mineral dimension. I was unfortunately not able to take the time this year to visit Nicolas Joly, a man best known to many younger wine lovers in his role as spokesperson for biodynamic viticulture and advocate of far-reaching metaphysical explanations for vinous phenomena, but who in person reveals a charm absent from his wines, as well as occasional flashes of iconoclasm. At their best, these wines are idiosyncratic reflections of their grower, of nature’s whims, and perhaps sometimes of sheer contingency; intense and intriguing if often not much fun to drink. Joly – with whom I have often corresponded on wide-ranging matters vinous, and for whom fun is not the point – might well agree with my description. But he would feel it misses the most essential point: that his wines consistently reflect their terroirs. On that count, I retain a measure of skepticism, and not only because Coulee de Serrant itself, being a monopole, does not permit of comparison with other renditions; but because it is often precisely what I call idiosyncrasies that most strike one in comparison with other renditions of Savennieres or Roche aux Moines. And if one believes in the importance of terroir, then surely also in its implicit pecking order, but frankly I have often found Joly’s ostensibly least wine – the Clos Sacres of simple Savennieres appellation – his most expressive and best-balanced, with high alcohol being the most frequent culprit when one ostensibly “trades up.” (This caused problems with some of the 2004s and 2005s I reviewed in issue 172 – and which confessed to 14-14.5% on their labels – but is much more problematic in the current crop, which fess up to 15-15.5%.) The behavior of recent releases in the open glass and bottle also makes me skeptical of their aging potential. All of those tasted held decently for the first day (more than I could say of their vintage 2005 counterparts), but on the second, all but the 2008 Coulee de Serrant had begun to further darken and lose flavor interest not to mention freshness. In the notes that follow I have made no attempt, finding it impossible, to individually assess the potential longevity of these wines. Importer: Domaine Select, New York, NY; tel. (212) 279-0799