Nicolas Joly, 2019 Update
In my annual round of tastings it would be a shame to not stop off with the Loire Valley’s very own doyen of biodynamic viticulture, Nicolas Joly, proprietor of Château de la Roche aux Moines and current holder of the deeds to the Clos de la Coulée de Serrant. Having said that, in recent years I have often tasted with Nicolas Joly’s daughter, Virginie Joly, who today plays an increasingly significant role here.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I don’t have anything new to report regarding life at the Château de la Roche aux Moines. The vineyards remain thoroughly biodynamic, managed by Nicolas, Virginie and a crack team of snail-eating sheep. The harvest incorporates a mix of clean and botrytis-affected fruit, the latter an important contributor to the style (to be fair, this is true, to some extent, across much of Anjou). The fruit is pressed and vinified in oak barrels, all old, with no new oak introduced here for nearly two decades. The wines all go through malolactic fermentation. Nicolas continues to assess the condition of the wine in the barrel by tapping with a tuning fork. He continues to worry about interference from electrical systems, wi-fi networks and orbiting satellites. Indeed, with so many malevolent forces working against Nicolas (pictured) and family, it is a wonder any wine is made here at all.
The Wines
I tasted the usual trio of wines, on this encounter all from the 2017 vintage. Not for the first time I liked the first and second wines I tasted more than the exalted cuvée from the famous clos. The 2017 Les Vieux Clos and 2017 Clos de la Bergerie showed the usual strong composition, all beeswax and grip, but there was some energy here too. I sometimes find these wines more convincing with age, as I have seen in several recent tastings, such as my 2008 Loire at Ten Years tasting, when the 2008 Savennières Les Vieux Clos showed well.
