I think generally Ganevat’s whites age incredibly well, Marguerite included. I had great recent experiences with 2005-2014, but haven’t opened much of the younger stuff. But the wines are very good young, too. If you want to experience Ganevat, don’t wait! Or source an older bottle 
2 Likes
I tried the Crémant first last November and liked it a lot. Last week in Antibes I found a very nice natural shop and when I expressed my interested towards the bottles of Ganevat on the shelf the shopkeeper gave me a pour of the 2023 Les Clous Naturé (Savagnin) from Domaine de l’Aigle à Deux Têtes which I found extremely tasty. Moderate alcohol, superb acidity and so vibrant. I then researched a bit to realize that the other wine I should be asking for is the single vineyard Chardonnay Bâtard-Vernambaud so I returned next day and got a bottle. Very excited for this discovery, I believe we will be hearing more of it. Of course once that happens it will become difficult to source new bottles as it is a tiny 2.5ha operation…
3 Likes
im sure its hidden in some thread but is there any consensus regarding best white jura vintages since 2020?
how was 2023 specifically?
Also curious to know, was 2020 a good vintage? Recently tried a solid 2017 d’Arlay and considering jura as a more regular purchase
As always some producers excel in some things, and some in others. 2017 is a below average year as a whole. The yields very low due to frost, but the wine that came out is quite high quality, at least from Ganevat, Labet and FRM. d’Arlay is quite consistent with their wines so I wouldn’t hesitate to buy if you like the wines.
-
2018 was a very warm year with high yields. A complete opposite of 2017. But the heat was extreme and this is leading to quite some bacterial instability for the reds especially. While reds in 2017 are shrill and the PH is off, the reds of 2018 are riddled with instability. Whites too, are problematic at a few producers.
-
2019 A very good year too, but lower yields due to frost. The reds are still somewhat suffering from the havoc that the temperatures of '18 brought into the cellars. Mousiness many places. The whites are fairly good although taking their time to come around. No release from Ganevat and Overnoy as of yet.
-
2020 was great. Good yields. Plenty of heat but also a lot of stress issues due to lack of rain. I’ve had plenty good 20’s, but I prefer the whites to the reds.
-
2021 was horrible. Frost and just terrible conditions. I have very few bottles in my cellar and the ones I’ve had has been shrill on the red side, and OK on the white.
-
2022 was great and I’ve hardly dug into mine but what I’ve had has been great, and there’s plenty more good remarks out there. It’s my favorite for whites so far, along with '20. Labet Varrons Blanc from that years is gigantic.
-
2023 I’ve mostly tried reds again and it seems that its similar to '22 and '20. Fine reviews for most things. The Marnes Blanches Poulsard was a little too zippy but Bornard(Phillippe), Ganevat, Popy etc. has been good. My reds from this year will be able to lay at least for 10 years. It’s a prime vintage for red.
-
2024 was a disaster and I think Ganevat is not releasing reds for that year.
-
2025 I was there harvesting and there were big smiles all around, but let’s see in a few years.
8 Likes
This is the first time I’ve heard somebody say 2017 is a great year. I’ve heard it was a miserable, rainy vintage where most of the production was lost to rot and miserable weather. Do you know why these wines are hard to come by? Because the producers you listed lost 70-90% of their production - most of the Cuvées Ganevat usually makes were not made in this year due to the very tiny quantities, and were instead blended into this vintage-specific cuvee Les Rescapés - “the survivors”.
I’ve heard some producers who were not affected saying it was a very good vintage, so if bad weather didn’t decimate your production, the wines turned out good. However, in this year many producers began their négociant operations since they didn’t have any wine to make, so they began buying fruit outside Jura and making Vin de France négo-wines.
My experience with Arlay is quite the opposite - most of the wines I’ve had (admittedly a rather small sample) have been quite meh and underwhelming, not really up to par with the overall quality in Jura. However, my experiences are with older vintages - mostly 10 years old or older - so I don’t know if they have improved their game in the past decade. Never had any of their 2017’s.
Is it just me, or do the more solar vintages do really well in the Jura. I think 2018, 2019, and 2020 are all very strong, especially with the white wines (Ganevat, Bruyere & Houillon, Labet, and Michel Gahier for example).
I am also a big fan of 2009 (I’m presuming this was solar as well – Overnoy and Puffeney made some nice wines that year)
I agree with 2023 being a good red wine year (good ones I’ve had in the past year include Ganevat, Julien Crinquand and Cellier Saint Benoit). Haven’t tried any whites yet.
Less experience with 2016, but it is solid, if a bit rounder and more accessible – granted these had more bottle ages when I had them then the 2018-20 wines (I’m thinking specifcally of a '16 Ganevat Chalasses VV and a '16 Rijckaert Chardonnay En Paradis)
2014s are really great based on what I tasted from Ganevat (white: Chalasses VV and Marnes Bleue; red: Julien en Billat). Great acidity, intense, concentrated wines that also have great finesse and elegance.
Will always have a soft spot for 2007 though: 15 years ago, a friend brought a bottle of 2007 Overnoy Poulsard to a wine dinner. He had bought it for $30 a couple of years earlier from CSW. My first encounter with this beautiful region of wine.
And speaking of d’Arlay, I only have had the 1985 Château d’Arlay Côtes du Jura Vin Jaune, but I thought it was a very fine example of Vin Jaune. Fresh and saline, silky and elegant.
Seeing as we don’t have a badge for 'Being righfully corrected by Otto", I will open a nice wine today! It’s a milestone for me. You’re of course right and I stand corrected. The yields were low and quality variable. The wines I’ve had, has been great. Both Les Survivants and Les Rescapes from Ganevat were excellent IMO, along with all whites I’ve tried from '17 produced by FRM, H&B and Labet.
I’m trying to be very sensitive, as wines that are luring someone into a new region can be a little special to them, or at least that’s what I’m imagining. I was considering phrasing it very differently, because I do not like the wines personally. My comment on ‘being consistent with the wines’ is not a question of being consistently at a great level, but rather that when you farm 22-25 hectares, it’s easier to discard what you want to achieve ‘consistency’ from vintage to vintage.
@Yule_Kim I’m very curious to hear from both you and Andy as you two drink plenty of Jura ‘over there’. Concerning the ‘hot vintages’ I think all do it well with the whites. The reds… yes a different story. Looking forward to the day we can have an offline.
2 Likes
Haven’t had all the 2017 from all the producers you listed, but I can imagine the wines they managed to produce have been great! After all, they are known for keeping a very high standard with their wines, so it’d be surprising if they released something mediocre. However, I wouldn’t judge the quality of a vintage based only on the créme de la créme of a certain region - especially if these guys made so tiny amounts of wine that they were quite difficult to obtain already on release!
But I do agree with you in that whites were more successful in 2017 than reds. If you see a 2017 Jura white, there’s a good chance that it is pretty good. If you see a 2017 Jura red, steer clear!
Understandable. However, my experience with Arlay has not been that of consistency - some of their wines have been quite nice, albeit a bit foursquare and maybe more evolved than I’d expect. Some have been just thin, underwhelming or not particularly balanced. I feel there has been quite a bit of variation from vintage to vintage.
But as I said, I have not had any of the more recent vintages, so it also might be that they’ve improved since!
Consistently underwhelming 
Oh and yes, 2017 and 2021 red. No thanks please.
1 Like
The 2017 dArlay white I had was solid, in that funky Jura style
I’m stoked for your experience Max. My issue with d’Arlay is plainly that it’s a huge domaine with not much experimentation. Very traditionalist.
I’d urge you to get into Stephane Tissot and de la Pintes wines, and if that floats your boat then slowly move into smaller and smaller domaines. It’s a very exciting region.
Id love to dig in more, sadly it seems to be a bit cost prohibitive so it’ll be a slow move. The Arlay was around 45, and wines in that style (7 years) from better producers seem to be more in the 75-100 range.
Ah wait, so you had a Vin Jaune? Yes Maire and Arlay moves a lot of that, compared to others. Bargains can be found with Tissots Savagnin Voile, Marnes Blanches Empreinte and a few other cuvees from de la Pinte and so on.
2 Likes
I believe it was made in the sous voile style, but was not a vin jaunt. Unless I misunderstood. It absolutely had the funky, nutty characteristics of SV.
I do own a case of Ganevat 2019 Grandes Teppes VV. I did even send you a link back when I bought them 
1 Like
A ton of issues in 2017. Very low yields. A few producers ended up making special cuvées where they mixed whatever they had available. From that some really good wines came to existence though. Ganevat and Allante & Boulanger among those who made som really good whites in that vintage.
2021 is the same story, to some degree, but i haven’t tasted those special cuvées.
As Mads mentioned then 2022 seems really good for whites.
1 Like
My allocation of '23 Marne Blanches just came in. Just sayin.
1 Like
'23 Jura Horizontal would be fun.
I bought all the extended elevage bottles this year so you don’t have to
Labet allocation incoming and budget is spent for the next year and a half 