Les Vieux Clos provides an inviting taste into the Famille Joly style. The 5.5 hectares vineyard is planted on light slopes facing east in the mountainous AOC Savennières appellation. The soil is different here, with more sand in the first 2 feet. Yields are kept at 25 hectoliters per hectare (well below the 50 hl/ha requirement of the appellation). Unique to this wine in the portfolio, fermentation can be completed partly in tank. The resulting wine provides expressive exotic notes of ginger and coriander balanced with candied pear and an accent of salinity. Les Vieux Clos is often considered the most aromatic of the three wines.

A very early spring and flowering, beginning in June, with rain unfortunately at the same time. The harvest was very early, with the first pick on the 3rd of September and second and third picks the following two weeks. For the first time, harvest was done only in the mornings with temperatures over 30°C (86 F) in the afternoon! Despite the unusual weather, the behavior in the cellar was very balanced. Fermentation completed fairly quickly, over 2 and a half months. Because of the early picking dates, there was very little botrytis, only about 5%. All three wines present a long mouth, the elegance of chenin grapes with 40 years of biodynamic practice, expressing all the complexity of their slate terroir.

No settling, no temperature control during fermentation, 100% indigenous yeasts, no fining