Vanessa

9.5

Let’s talk about SAVENNIÈRES!!!! 📣📣

Savennières is a small but mighty appellation (AOC), located in the Anjou subregion of the Loire Valley, France and specializes in still, dry Chenin Blanc wines. 🇫🇷

Its growing environment is apt for producing concentrated and ripe fruit, translating into wines with strong aromatic and flavor intensity and higher alcohol potential. 💪🏻 It’s no wonder this appellation is all about Chenin Blanc; Chenin has naturally higher acidity, which can help lend structure and balance to the final wine. ⚖️ 🙌🏻🙌🏻

The combination of these factors sets the stage for winemakers to produce some truly powerful and age-worthy whites that can improve, gaining complexity (and softening) with some time in the bottle. 🤔 🧐 Savennières has a reputation as a more serious, cerebral wine that is meant to be savored, especially when paired with a creamy seafood dish like Coquilles Saint-Jacques! 😋 🥘

🌿This particular wine is the Nicolas Joly, Clos de la Coulée de Serrant AOC (2019) hailing from the prized enclave of Coulée de Serrant AOC (within Savennières AOC), owned exclusively and farmed biodynamically by the renowned Nicolas Joly.

This wine is surely capable of aging for decades but tonight we opted to sip this golden wine during the golden hour with unseasonably warm, summery temperatures here in Minnesota.

🐝 🍯 In the glass, we found concentrated, layered notes of honey, beeswax, yellow apple, ripe apricot, quince, chamomile, dried & crushed white rose petals, toasted almond, hazelnut, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, acrylic paint, wet stones, salted caramel, & butterscotch.

It has texture (and finish) for days and a coating mouthfeel.

🫣 Its alcohol by volume clocks in at 15%!!! But it’s well-integrated and balanced by a crisp acidity and robust aromas and flavors. 👌 — 10 hours ago

with Deked1

Mark S.

9.2

Amber. vanilla apricot nutty mushroom Marzipan Fruitiness M+ Sweetness M++ Acidity M++ Bitterness M Body M+ Finish M++ even deep due to aged for 27 years 14% Château de Fargues Sauternes Semillion Sauvignon Blanc Blend 99 @13200, AD, 260226 — 7 months ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.3

A major leap here. Clean and crisp. Some skin contact. But this is not your average Orange wine. Filtered lightly. No sediment at all! Apricot, mandarine, plenty of acid, big and broad with a lot of body. A little more rustic then their new top of the line whites with new labels. — 2 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Medium gold color. Heavy in the glass like oil. Killer nose. Notes of ripe apricot, tan spice, sea breeze, cardamom, some chalky limestone soil and sea shells. Rich and silky in the mouth. Light and not too heavy. Long finish. In a great spot. — 4 years ago

Vasanth Balakrishnan

9.2

#sauternes so sweet and balanced. Third of three bottles for my wife’s 40th birthday. We saved the best for last, as it turns out. Honeyed layers as this gently warms in a Burgundy bowl - caramel, marzipan, toasted almonds, some petrol, apricot jam. Tastes exactly how it smells with the acidity taking a step back from the honey sweetness swirling around a luscious oily mouthfeel. Touch of orange pith bitterness on the finish - lovely wine. Indeed it pairs well with Indian food but the force of this wine could have easily matched even spicier dishes. Beautiful wine and what’s amazing is it seemed this wine could easily go another 20 years. Good Sauternes is ever youthful. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

Great color in the decanter... medium gold with an enticing perfume. Notes of sweet Meyer lemon, apricot, gravel stone, tan clay, some mint, a little ginger and some sweet marzipan. Has an exotic and slightly musty (desirable) funk. Huge weight with great fruit and solid acidity in the mouth. Decanted for 2 hours before drinking. Awesome juice! If you Google “why should I age white burgundy?”, an image of this 35 year old bottle should be shown... — 6 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Quickie party notes. An end of the dinner treat. So rich, honeyed apricot. Yum — a month ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

375 ml. Gorgeous nose of peach, apricot, lightly honeyed, very bright. On the palate it’s quite intense but so nicely balanced. Almost a little tannic thing in the finish which shows the intensity. I know we’re drinking it young but we’re with my dad and he’s 94, and loves Riesling, so we’re living in the present. And the present here is pretty nice. — 3 months ago

Amanda Drazka

9.6

This beautiful Sauternes offers a sweet nose of dried apricot with a full body on the palate. It has notes of tangerine, honey and spice with a velvety, long finish. — 5 months ago

Conrad Green

9.4

Light amber. Showing secondary notes- dried apricot, honey, brioche. Good tension still and reasonable fizz. For my palate slightly past the best bottles I’ve had of this — 8 months ago

with Paul, Matt and 1 other

Lyn Farmer

9.1

Very elegant with Medium intensity aromas and flavors of apple, pineapple, apricot, white peach, nectarine, elderflower, brioche, clove, vanilla and smoke.
Hint of dried apricot and honey.
Very good quality, balancing aromatics with a hint of oak. Interesting style with batonnage, 18% new French oak — 3 years ago

Andrew Liguori

9.0

Just hard to argue with a good Sauternes. Pear, apricot, dates and silky vanilla. — 5 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.0

The 2018 Chardonnay is loaded with apricot, tangerine peel, pineapple and sweet new oak. The overt, racy style works well here. A hint of reduction on the finish adds a nice counterpoint. Drink this mid-weight, easygoing Chardonnay over the next handful of years. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, July 2021)
— 5 years ago

Doug Powers

9.4

After the crappy Kiwi Chardonnay (Luta), we needed something of impeccable quality and breeding, so here we are. This incredible Spatlese from JJ Prum, other than the color, is just beginning to show its charms, this will last MANY MORE years, but such a privilege to drink such a phenomenal Mosel legend, mineral, sweet apricot and peach fruit, amazing acidity, great length, LOVE this stuff!! (P.S. — I have NO intention in getting involved in the Casagrande clan’s metal band debate, I’d rather just drink old JJ Prum Riesling!!) — a month ago

with Jim

Mary H

9.3

An explosion of apricot flavor. Round and smooth, heavy weight, with sufficient but not overt acidity. A beautiful sweet wine. — 3 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Medium straw lemon colour . This is quite rich on the nose with lemon pith , touch of smoke , ginger and creamy , honeysuckle notes . On the palate this shows more yellow fruits, peach , apricot and lemon , good acidity and balance. Quite intense and long with chalky touches. Drinking well now but still quite fruit dominated. A really good bottle , completely another experience than the overly advanced bottle last year , this one showing youth and freshness , ripeness and intensity . Lovely now but will continue and probably improve over the next 5-10 years . — 7 months ago

Charlie Tapp

9.6

Apricot, white peach and orange blossom. Incredibly light on its feet considering the age. — 9 months ago

Conrad Green

9.2

Amber in color, limited bubbles. Pretty stuff- apricot, honey, some sherry notes. Toasted brioche. Definitely aged but lovely and balanced. Probably would have been oak a few years back — 3 years ago

with Tony and David

Neil Blaze

9.1

Zowee! Holy tropical fruit, Batman! Fresh apricot, pineapple, grapefruit, and lemon zest flavors rule in this tangy Sauv Blanc from Marlborough, NZ. It was a great pairing with our salmon with lemon butter and dill. 100% Sauvignon Blanc. 12/4/21. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

See previous notes - just an outstanding CdP white comprising 80% Roussanne, 15% Grenache Blanc and a few other varieties. Lovely aromatics of musk, apricot and pear. The palate is rich without being heavy - a note of mandarin. Medium minus acid. Just delicious - finding yourself reaching for another glass. Easter Sunday aperitif. — 6 years ago