2015 Domaine Ganevat Côtes du Jura Chardonnay "Les Chalasses", Jura, France (MAGNUM 1.5L)

ABOUT THIS WINE

After a delicate, sulfite-free fermentation, the wine matures on the lees for more than two years. The careful work of the winemaker can not only preserve, but also increase the varietal characteristics of Savanyen and the expression of the terroir. The storage potential of Le Chalass Marne Bleu exceeds 15 years. Two hours before use, decantation is recommended.

100% Chardonnay. From vines planted in 1902 on gray marl. Les Chalasses is a specific vineyard site from which this old-vines cuvee derives. Yields are a miniscule 15hl/ha. This is Ganevat’s most powerful and longest aged white, and the last to be bottled. Ganevat first made this cuvée in 1999.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

In the charming hamlet of La Combe de Rotalier (just south of Lons-le-Saunier), Jean-François Ganevat is making wine with the inspired magic of an alchemist. Jean-François Ganevat—known as Fanfan—is making wine with the inspired magic of an alchemist. His wines occupy the better part of the hamlet, filling picturesque country cottages with barrels and barrels of his diverse, yet traditional creations. He comes from a long line of winegrowers, dating as far back as 1650, although the family supplemented their grape-growing with a dairy that produced milk destined for the local cheese, Comté, until 1976. After working both for his father and for the prestigious Domaine Jean-Marc Morey in Chassagne-Montrachet, Jean-François returned to the Jura in 1998 to take over the family domaine. Today, he is joined by his sister, Anne. With only eight and a half hectares under vine, the family has seventeen different local varieties planted of both red and white grapes—an incredible amount of variation to consider for holdings of such small size. For such a fervent perfectionist and insatiable lover of details as Jean-François, the decision to have the domaine certified as biodynamic was a natural choice.

Jean-François creates a stunning number of cuvées, ranging between thirty-five and forty every year! His methodology goes far beyond the details of the average vigneron. For some, his process would be maddening, as each cuvée calls for a highly individualized élévage. Jean-François is committed to minute doses of sulfur, so low in fact, that many fear it hurting the wines during transport. He curbs this issue entirely by aging many of his whites on the lees for extended periods of time, anywhere from two to eleven years! In all of his years making wine, he has never had a problem. In the Jura, many of the wines go through a traditional, intentional oxidation; however Jean-François aims to lend a greater lightness and elegance to wines of this style than are typical. He gravitates toward the Burgundian style, using ouillage to top off barrels. Jean-François Ganevat is a master of his craft, one of the true magicians of the eclectic. To say that his grapes are spun into gold would not be far from the truth; his wines are entirely otherworldly.