Jean-François Ganevat, Grusse en Billat, Chardonnay, Côtes du Jura 2016

“I love the fluorescent yellow color of the Chardonnay 2016 Grusse en Billat, which portrays a pungent nose and feels very mineral and complex, with a bitter touch that feels very Jura—different from Burgundy—finishing long and dry. All of Ganevat’s whites from 2016 are between 12% and 13.2% alcohol, and 2016 was a fresh vintage here, fresher than the ripe 2015 and very different from the often-exotic 2016 whites from Burgundy that had the concentration effect of the frost that didn’t hit here until 2017. But these 2016s feel a lot more powerful than what they are. This is intense, and I love the magic color it has! I think this could be the last vintage for this wine, as he gave this vineyard to Kenjiro Kagami from Domaine des Miroirs (look him up in this very same issue, because his wines are mind-boggling). Or maybe he gave him part and kept another part, I’ll try to ask Ganevat next time…”-(94-95)WA, 2020-2030

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; they are entirely otherworldly.