2002 Jean-Francois Ganevat, Savagnin, Les Vignes de mon Pere, Cotes du Jura, France.
Ganevat’s biodynamic farming and magical alchemy in the cellar has made him one of the most sought after Jura producers, and his tiny production is feverishly fought over, in fact most restaurants and fine wine merchants see only a few bottles of this amazing selection of Ganevat wines. The Jura region is on fire these days with interesting wines, unspoiled landscapes and down to earth vignerons make for a wine geeks dream come true, but some of these styles are a bit way for mainstream costumers that don’t enjoy sherry like oxidation in their whites, though there are lots of wonderful non-oxidative wines, like this fantastic 2002 Savagnin that is as fresh as anything, it is almost unbelievable that this vibrant white spend a decade in a big oak cask! This Ganevat masterpiece is sizzling with vivid acidity and bursting with energy, hints of kumquat, key lime and orange zest go nicely with a core of lemon/lime, white peach and granny smith apple skin flavors with only the faintest hint of hazelnut making this fine white sing like the grandest of Chablis, though it is totally unique in character. This wildly delicious reminds me of some of the long wood aged Loire wines, though I must say this wine has non of the honeycomb or musty edges they tend to show, as it is as clean and clear as it gets. This wine finishes dry and crisp with loads of citrus tangy and a liquid mineral essence, I just can’t praise this interesting effort highly enough, it might be my all time favorite Jura white and I admire every focused detail, bravo. Sadly, this was a single cask with and few bottles will ever come to market, so if you fancy something true special and rare you’ll have your work cut out for you, but the reward will be great. Kermit Lynch Imports is releasing what they imported of this as we speak, so beg your local merchant to grab this one for you. Truly remarkable, and be sure to check out his Trousseau Cotes du Jura red too.
($115 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive
