An incredibly unique Chenin from Joly’s monopole appellation. Muscular, but there’s a whispery edge to this that’s more ethereal than 2018. Light golden. Enchanting, beguiling aromas of melon and apricot, tarragon and verbena, honeysuckle, lanolin, and something smoky and mysterious. On the palate, soft and quiet at first, but a thrilling underlying energy that electrifies from midpalate to finish. An outlier, and an amazing wine. (JW)

The alcohol declared on the label here is 15%. The grand vin has a typically waxy character on the nose in this vintage, with scents of wild flowers and straw coming first, followed by notes of black bean. The palate displays a typically broad and bold style, richly polished, the middle brimming with grip as well as primary energy, and although I sense a little tension at the heart of the palate there is a broad and warm style to it, with a peppery punch. It is long, with a firm finish, but there is a bold breadth here, and I suspect (but don’t know for sure) that the 15% on the label has been rounded down.

The 2017 Coulée de Serrant is a ripe wine, as Monsieur Joly lists this on the label as fifteen percent octane. The bouquet is deep, aromatically complex and ripe, delivering a blend of yellow plum, tangerine, a touch of pineapple, guava, beautiful, chalky soil tones, citrus peel, lanolin and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and ripe, with a good core, fine expression of terroir and fairly low acids, with good balance and little sign of its octane level. This is complex, quite open for young Coulée de Serrant and carries its alcohol very nicely indeed. Like all of these Joly wines, this needs some air after opening to really start to show properly; there is just a whisper of natural wine “wildness” here on both the nose and palate once the wine blossoms, but it is fairly minimal.