At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Place
- Savennières context, above the Loire
- Appellation
- Coulée de Serrant, a controlled appellation
- Main grape
- Chenin Blanc
- Vineyard
- Seven hectares, exclusively owned by the Joly family
- Vine age
- 35 to 80 years old
- Farming
- Biodynamic since 1984
- History
- Planted in 1130 by Cistercian monks and continuously under vine
- Range
- Coulée de Serrant, Clos de la Bergerie and Les Vieux Clos
The Producer
Famille Joly works Chenin Blanc across a small family range. Nicolas Joly's children participate in the estate, while the grapes are harvested by hand.
Fermentation relies on yeasts naturally present on the grapes and in the cellar air, without a cultured inoculation. The wines are bottled without fining or filtration. Fining removes suspended material and filtration clarifies wine, so both cellar steps are omitted here.
Place
Coulée de Serrant sits within the Savennières context and has its own controlled appellation. An appellation is a defined wine designation, so the vineyard name functions as the appellation on the bottle.
The steep slopes overlook the Loire. Their incline calls for work partly by hand and partly by horse.
Wines
Famille Joly produces Coulée de Serrant, Clos de la Bergerie and Les Vieux Clos, all made from Chenin Blanc. Coulée de Serrant appears as a 2022 and 2023 white wine, while Clos de la Bergerie and Les Vieux Clos are represented by 2022 bottles.
The range also includes Coulée de Serrant Moelleux 2022, a sweet style within the Chenin Blanc lineup. The wines receive six to eight months of oak barrel ageing.
In The Glass
Clos de la Bergerie 2022 opens with ripe green and golden orchard aromas, moving toward peach, stone fruit and dried white blossom. Open the bottle the day before drinking and decant it.
Coulée de Serrant Moelleux 2022 begins with wet stone minerality, followed by candied orange and pear, buttered brioche, honey and smoke. Quince, dried fruit and a slight oxidative note follow on an ample, deep, caressing palate. The finish stays fresh, with mineral tones and fine bitters alongside 32 g/L residual sugar.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Coulée de Serrant Moelleux 2022. It is the sweet Chenin Blanc bottle in the range, made from semi late harvested fruit with about 10% noble rot. Noble rot is a fungus that concentrates grapes as they lose water. This bottling sits closer to a tender dry wine than a conventional moelleux, placing a distinctive harvest style inside the Coulée de Serrant range.
Final Word
Famille Joly keeps Chenin Blanc at the centre of three named wines, including the Coulée de Serrant controlled appellation and a sweet 2022 Moelleux bottling. Hand harvesting, natural yeast fermentation and biodynamic farming define the work behind the bottles.
Sources
- coulee-de-serrant.com/en/home
- coulee-de-serrant.com/en/history-of-the-coulee-of-serrant
- www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/wine/nicolas-joly-biodynamic-wine
- worth.com/biodynamic-winemaking-revolution
- www.cellartours.com/france/french-wine-regions/anjou-saumur
- www.hachette-vins.com/guide-vins/producteurs/17768/famille-joly-2
- wilsondaniels.com/wine/famille-joly/clos-de-la-bergerie