Popped this bad boy last night to continue my quest for interesting white wines. It was deep golden in color and once opened, filled the room with its bouquet. The aromas were mostly apricots, but add in some herbal notes, sea shell, and hazelnut (partially oxidized) notes. On the palate this was very rich and mouthcoating but not heavy. Mostly apricots again with almond paste, white pepper, orange peel and a long spicy finish. This wine has some structure to it and needed some time to open up. Also drinks well the warmer it gets.
It is hard to say that this is recognizable as Chenin Blanc, at least if it were served blind. I have no idea what I would guess. But it is recognizable as Joly. Very tasty wine.
On a side note. We drank this while watching Joly on Wine Library TV. It is a very interesting interview. I got to taste with Joly and his daughter a few months ago as well as hear him give a speech on Biodynamics. I think he is fascinating to listen to and he has a very unique philosophy to winemaking. It was fun drinking his wine while he went on and on about how they are made. If you haven’t seen it, but are interesting in Joly, I would recommend it.
I had this something like 3 yrs ago and have bottles in the cellar. Every time approach a Joly in the cellar, I have visceral flashbacks to the awful ones instead of the great ones. Learned taste aversion. Need to overcome it.
Motivated to open one last night, drank over the whole evening. Left bottle sit open and still drinking it.
I swear this got paler the next day!
Sherry nose. Saline and mineral up front. Apricot skin-like texture. Light inside of sweetness. Hints of apricot fruit, but like tinned or dried. Nuts. Bergamot notes. Sweetness intensified over the evening. Actually really nice and enjoyable.
Next day, much more like Chenin/Savennieres than Joly. Still has sherry-like tones. Nice fruit sweet effect and even more pleasant.