Much as I hate to admit it…

I’ve had Coulée de Serrant loads of times and I’ve always hated it. I like Savennières very much, but what is supposedly the ultimate has always struck me as being too dirty and lacking any real charm. It is fiercely expensive, too. So image my surprise when I tried this.

Savennières Coulée de Serrant 1988, Nicolas Joly

The nose is really quite interesting, it smells somewhere in between a mature dry Riesling and a bottle of Grand Cru Chablis. It is a bit toasty, very ripe and really mineral. The palate is very weighty and dense, but the complex assortment of flavours it displays are all in balance with one another. The acidity is good enough to keep even a wine as dense as this lively. It is by no means tired or dull. Certainly a bit weird, but certainly good.

It was still quite expensive, I am not sure it was worth the money, but it was really interesting to see how it had developed in the bottle.