2005 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant Savennières 14.5%
This was heavily discounted a couple of months ago in at least two NY stores, so it wouldn't kill to find out what gives. Decanted for 24 hours at tropical room temperature, oscillating between 22 and 32C (70 to 90F), and then back in the bottle and chilled to 15C in the fridge. When opened, bottleneck aromas were apricot, caramel and gunpowder. After 12 hours in the decanter, orange rind, iron and something reminiscent of cognac. Looked orange in the decanter but gold (24 hours later) in the glass. Heady nose fest of almonds, sage, underbrush and a very light oxidative note. First sip is 1000 thread count silkiness. Amazingly smooth. Acidity is initially adequate, but fades a bit with cheese. There's some heat, but not enough to mar. The sweetness is almost off-dry, and a bit vulgar, like cotton candy, but somewhow it doesn't cloy. Perhaps because light oxidation (which I normally don't appreciate much) works like a necessary condiment here, combining with a light bitter finish to balance and modify the sweetness while filling in for any missing acidity. Though the parts sound disjointed when parsed like this, there's something uncannily beautiful about the way everything comes together. Puts me in mind of how the Barbie school of beauty tries to combine perfect parts to make a perfect whole, while this appears to do it with imperfect parts, deeper, more mysterious, more anthropomorphic. Will let my other two bottles sleep. Bold opportunists who sprung for a case are to be congratulated.