Loire Valley is a wine region in France that is often overshadowed by the greats of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Rhone Valley. However, thanks to that fact, those who are in the know are able to purchase amazingly delicious wines of the highest quality anywhere in the world at a fraction of the price in comparison. Unlike the regions mentioned just above, which are more or less a North-to-South orientation, Loire Valley as a whole follows the Loire river going from east to west that are very different in terms of terroir. For this reason, it produces one of the most diverse range of different wine styles one can find anywhere in the world.  Of many Protected Designation of Origins (PDO) in much of the EU, La Coulée de Serrant, is one of very few that has only one producer, which is known as a monopole. Other well known ones are Burgundy Grand Cru Romanée-Conti and La Tâche of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (DRC), La Romanée of Comte Liger-Belair, and Chateau-Grillet in Northern Rhone, which is owned by French Billionaire François Pinault of Chateau Latour.

I have been waiting to get my hands on this bottle for a long time now. First learned of the wine when watching a French movie for food lovers, Haut Cuisine. In the movie, the wine was chosen to be paired with food destined to be served for royalty. This small 7 hectare piece of south-facing steep slope overlooking the Loire is owned and farmed biodynamically solely by the Joly family lead by Nicholas Joly. With an average vine age between 30 to 40 years on a well drained red schist soil and very minimal human intervention to alter the terroir, this jewel is kept very close to nature.  To reach the desired maturity and all that the terroir can offer, the grapes are hand picked in multiple rounds. Only the ones that have the desired ripeness and botrytis influence are selected to go into the wine.

The result? A wine that has a very complex, elegant, and stylish nose of crushed apple, citrus, orange peel and zest, honey, camomile tea, floral, and a hint of steely minerality. All of this is delivered with a nectar-like thick mouthfeel, icy and cleansing acidity, and a warmth in the layered lingering finish. At a whopping 15% alcohol, it is so well integrated and balanced that makes me want to come back for more.

My wife had purchased a package from Freshprep, who provide prepared packages of ingredients and easy-to-follow recipe all delivered to door.  When I heard that we are having their Curried Shrimp and Basmati Rice with Butternut Squash and Cinlantro, I knew that Clos de la Coulée de Serrant will be the perfect wine to pair it with.  It definitely did not disappoint.  The wine delivers the fragrance and umami from the dish throughout the palate and opens them up like a blooming bouquet.

There are only very few cases available in the Lower Mainland Vancouver​, there are only about 2000 cases produced a year. It is definitely one of the wines you will have to try! With its amazing staying power, I only hope I can be patient enough to let it mature for decades before opening again.