Tasting notes from last night’s dinner that was planned around Ganevat’s wines. This was an epic opportunity to compare and contrast his arguably three most iconic wines (other than the Mon Pere, of course): Marnes Bleues, Chalasses, and Grands Teppes. It’s amazing how much time these wines really need in the cellar – one of the main takeaways was the older the better! The 2008s and 2009s showed really well, the 2011s felt like it needed more time, and the 2010s were somewhat in-between. My other takeaway was just how consistently great these wines are. Ganevat’s style (to me) is quite showy and rich, but the wines were well balanced and complex.
We started with the Marnes Bleues, which was paired with poulet au vin jaune et aux morilles. The rest of the wines were then consumed over many hours with sourdough and comté cheese (36 and 24 months).
GANEVAT DINNER - San Francisco (5/6/2023)
Chalasses Marnes Bleues
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2009 Jean-François Ganevat Côtes du Jura Les Chalasses Marnes Bleues - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Gorgeous nose with notes of green apples, lots of citrus, minerals, and a little bit of smoke. High acidity with more citrus notes on the palate, lemon zest, minerals, more apple and a hint of pear. Long finish. This wine has a lot of intensity and power but it's really well balanced and complex. Awesome! My favorite of this flight. (96 points) -
2010 Jean-François Ganevat Côtes du Jura Les Chalasses Marnes Bleues - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Pretty and very mineral driven nose with just a hint of apples, lemon, and slight honey note that emerged with air. The palate shows slightly riper notes but still has that mineralilty in the forefront and a interesting lemon/orange zest note. Good acidity and nice finish. Lovely wine and some preferred this over the other Marnes Bleues (especially on the palate), but for me the 09 was just a bit more complete. (95 points) -
2011 Jean-François Ganevat Côtes du Jura Les Chalasses Marnes Bleues - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Started out quite reserved but became more fragrant and expressive with air. Complex nose of lemon, minerals, and smoke. High acidity on the palate with notes of apples, lemon, hay, and a tiny hint of bruised orchard fruit. Long finish. This may be the most promising of the Marnes Bleues and I would give this at least another 5 years in the cellar to show its best. 95+ (95 points)
Chalasses Vieilles Vignes
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2008 Jean-François Ganevat Côtes du Jura Les Chalasses Vieilles Vignes - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Really lovely, complex nose of lemon, lime, and green apples. Lots of acidity on the palate with more lemon and apple notes and a distinct mineral-y quality towards the back. Long finish. Excellent wine that beautifully combines bright, acid driven fruit with power and complexity. (96 points) -
2010 Jean-François Ganevat Côtes du Jura Les Chalasses Vieilles Vignes - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
The most floral of these wines with white flowers, minerals, yellow fruit, and quite a bit of richness and weight on the nose. Nice acidity with more lemon notes, minerals, and high intensity on the palate. Long finish. This started out slightly effervescent and maybe a bit volatile, but that blew off complete with air. What emerged was a beautiful wine! (95 points) -
2011 Jean-François Ganevat Côtes du Jura Les Chalasses Vieilles Vignes - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
The nose started out a bit weird with a distinct cheese note that thankfully blew off mostly but not completely. The wine showed a bit backwards, but nuanced with notes of lemon and white flowers on the nose. Good acidity on the palate with more lemon and some green apple notes. Good finish. In the end, this was quite good, but looking at my last note it makes me think this may have been an off bottle. (92 points)
Intermezzo
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2011 Emmanuel Houillon (Maison Pierre Overnoy) Savagnin Arbois Pupillin - France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin
Holy moly what a gorgeous nose! There are complex flavors of apple, lemon, minerals, and yellow fruit with lots of depth and layers. Good acidity with impeccable balance, subtle flavors, but good intensity. The palate has similar flavors and a long finish. This was outstanding, wow! Really interesting to contrast this with all the great Ganevat wines tasted tonight. Quite different style, less rich, much more subtle and nuanced. My WOTN. (97 points)
Les Grands Teppes Vieilles Vignes
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2008 Jean-François Ganevat Les Grands Teppes Vieilles Vignes - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Unfortunately, this was premoxed. (NR/flawed) -
2009 Jean-François Ganevat Les Grands Teppes Vieilles Vignes - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Rich, intense nose with notes of lemon, riper orchard fruit, and chalk. Nice acidity with good weight on the palate and flavors of more lemon, citrus zest, apple, and minerals. There quite a bit of richness on both nose and palate but it's balanced by the acidity and citrus flavors. Long finish. Really lovely wine, my favorite of the Grands Teppes. (95 points) -
2011 Jean-François Ganevat Les Grands Teppes Vieilles Vignes - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Mineral driven nose with mostly citrus flavors that's much more delicate but also prettier than the 2009. Nice acidity on the palate with more lemon and mineral notes. Nice finish. Really lovely wine that was super drinkable. Next to the 09 it was maybe a bit less complex, but showed better balance and brighter flavors. This will only get better with time. 94++ (94 points)
Reds
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2014 Jacques Puffeney Trousseau Arbois Les Berangères - France, Jura, Arbois
Very pretty nose with notes of red fruit, black pepper, earth, a hint of leather, and maybe a bit of brett. Good acidity with more red berries and cherries on the palate and a bit more primary than the palate overall. Nice finish. This was really lovely and complex, a nice contrast from the more pure fruit flavors of the other reds. I enjoyed this slight rusticity and would ideally give this another 5 years or so in the cellar. 93-94+ (93 points) -
2014 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône La Pialade - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
Super expressive and gorgeous nose of wild strawberries, cherries, dried flowers, and just a tiny hint of earth and leather. Good acidity on the palate with lovely flavors of more wild strawberries and berries, as well as a bit of forest floor. Long finish. What a beautiful wine! This was drinking superbly right now and although it may evolve over many years, I don't think this will get any better than it is today. (95 points) -
2008 Domaine Fourrier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Gruenchers Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Pretty and quite powerful nose with earth, red cherries, raspberries, and floral notes. Lots of acidity on the palate with tart berries and cherries and violets. The palate is quite a bit leaner than the nose and frankly not as interesting. Nice finish. I'm generally not a big fan of 08s but this was really good despite the lean and acidic palate. Will probably get better with time but really approachable right now. (94 points)
Vin Jaune & Sul Q
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2004 Jean-François Ganevat Vin Jaune - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Intense and very fragrant nose with notes of almonds, lemon, cheese, and minerals. Really lovely palate with lots of acidity, more almond and nutty flavors, citrus, apple, and a bit of hay. Very long finish. Super good, well balanced Vin Jaune that's intense but not over the top. I may have rated this a bit higher if served earlier in the night... (95 points) -
NV Jean-François Ganevat Savagnin Vin de Table Français Sul Q - France, Vin de Table Français
Fragrant nose with burnt sugar, apricot, caramel, and citrus zest. Sweet on the palate but with good acidity and more apricot flavors, orange jam, and honey. Good finish. Delicious wine that has all of its components in the right place, but may lack a bit in complexity to make it truly special. (93 points)
We started the night with the 2014 disgorgement of Ganevat’s Cremant, which was good but maybe had a touch too much RS (surprisingly for a brut zero).
The full lineup:
Ganevat Flights:
My WOTN:
The reds:
