Domaine Ganevat Cotes du Jura “Les Grands Teppes” 2003
I never cease to be fascinated by the wines from France’s Jura region. This small winemaking area located to the east of Burgundy is home to some of the most remarkable and unique wines being made anywhere in the world. Ever since I first encountered them a little over two years ago I’ve tried to learn as much as I can about the region and its wines, and of course to try as many as I can reasonably get my hands on.
But trying them is no simple task. Very few wines from the Jura are imported into the U.S. (less than 5% of the overall production). Not only is the region very small, it’s wines can be strange and challenging upon first encountering them. One writer has argued that “The wines of France’s Jura are misunderstood, maligned and not widely imported – but these bottles are the rare artifacts of one of the world’s most singular food and wine cultures…” I wouldn’t hesitate to agree myself.
At the extreme end you have Vin Jaune, the iconic wine that Jura is most renowned for. Vin Jaune is aged in barrels for 6 years and 3 months, during which time the winemaker never tops up the barrel, and the wine develops flavors of walnut, hazelnut, spices, along with a brightening acidity. These wines are fabulous, very rare, and offer up a range of flavors that is highly unusual. It is not uncommon for people trying this wine for the first time to think that there is a defect with the wine.
Alongside Vin Jaune are a host of wines, many of which come from grapes that are unique to Jura. These include whites made from the Savagnin grape, and reds made from Poulsard or Trousseau. The wines made from these grapes can be very interesting and entirely unique. Savagnin wines tend to have a natural hint of nuttiness alongside a distinct acidity and minerality. Poulsard and Trousseau both produce reds that are very light in color with delicate fruit flavors. In fact, in the Jura it is most common for the reds to be served before the whites, because they are the lighter of the two, and the whites the more substantial, food-friendly wine.
As well, a good amount of light, finesse-style Pinot Noir is made, and over half of the total acreage of vines is planted to Chardonnay. So international varieties have their place (some great Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays do come out of Jura), but it is with their unique wines and grapes that the Jura really stands out.
Having said all of that, the wine in question here is a Chardonnay from Domaine Ganevat. Ganevat is located in Rotalier in the southern half of the Jura region. All of their vines are located in the Cotes du Jura AOC, the biggest of the few AOCs in the Jura with 700 hectares. The winery produces a variety of wines from Savagnin, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Poulsard, and Trousseau. The majority are produced using a method referred to in the Jura as “ouillé”.
This last point is where Cotes du Jura wines can be very fun and unpredictable. Winemakers in the Jura make the choice of producing their white wines using either the “ouillé” or “sous-voile” method (Vin Jaune must be made sous-voile). “Ouillé” means that the winemaker topped up the barrel as the wine aged. This is the normal practice throughout the world of wine, and prevents the wine from slowly oxidizing in the barrel. In contrast, a wine made using the “sous-voile” method is not topped up in the barrel. As a result, a thin layer of yeast forms on the top of the wine, which the Jura winemakers refer to as the “voile” or veil. This prevents the wine from turning into vinegar in the barrel, and allows it to slowly age and develop a range of unique flavors, including the nuttiness and spices that are so pronounced in Vin Jaune.
Cotes du Jura white wines are not aged anywhere near as long as Vin Jaune, and so if they are made using the sous-voile method they develop subtle flavors that combine well with the primary fruitiness of chardonnay or the minerality of savagnin. Sous-voile whites from the Jura are fascinating, highly enjoyable wines. And what is more, they match very well with food.
In the case of Domaine Ganevat, most of the wines are made in the “ouillé” style. This Cotes du Jura is made from 100% chardonnaay. The wine was made in 2003, and the label on the bottle carries the designation “La Combe” and “Les Grandes Teppes”. The vines the grapes come from are 85-plus years old. The wine is fermented in oak and aged on the lees for 18-months before bottling.
The wine has a strong, soft-gold color with an almost greenish tint around the edges. The nose has pistachio, apples, and caramelized shallots. The palate is soft and slightly heavy, but with a strong undercurrent of acidity. Balanced against this acidity are wonderful flavors of apples, poached pears, candied lemon rind, and hazelnuts. The finish begins with apples, gives way to a brace of sparkling acidity, and then slowly gives way to more hazelnuts.
What amazed me about this wine is that despite being made in the “ouillé” style, it still had a notable nuttiness. It was very well integrated and not overpowering at all, but still rather unusual for a chardonnay. You can’t help but raise the question of whether this is simple an element of the Jura terroir. The acidity that it had was also very nice, and in the end made the wine feel very fresh. Especially when it kicked in on the finish.
Last weekend I dug up a few more bottles of Jura wines, and I’m very excited to taste them over the coming few weeks. They’re not great summer whites because they don’t really have the refreshing, quaffability I look for in a summer white, but they’re excellent spring and fall whites. So it should be a fun, and provocative few wines that we’ll be drinking this spring!
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