Beyond Vin Jaune
1999 Ganevat "Vignes des Mon Pere"
A Case for Savagnin's "Indisputable Nobility"
Leave it to Jean-Francois Ganevat to take Jura's iconic Vin Jaune and flip it on its head with his 99 Vignes des Mon Pere. Where Vin Jaune spends a minimum of six and a half years in barrel without topping up, Vignes des Mon Pere spent over ten years topped up.
What else would you expect from a winemaker who doesn't even own a computer?
Clearly, there is a tempo to life in Ganevat's Jura, a more natural rhythm that does not speak to our digital, instant-messaging world.
We've been beating the drum for Ganevat for sometime now (his Pinot Noir was my "Wine of the Year" - there are still some bottles left...), but it's worth pausing to remind you why Ganevat is one of most dedicated and fascinating wine makers working today, in the Jura or anywhere else. Ganevat farms biodynamically restricting his vines to miniscule yields - sometimes as low as single digits. He is so fanatical about terroir that he bottles 35-40 different cuvées from his mere 8.5 hectares, isolating even the most minute differences of soil.
 |
Today's offer - Ganevat's 99 Savagnin "Vignes des Mon Pere" - is one of the best wines I drank in 2010, period. It is certainly the most unique.
Ganevat's entire lineup is fascinating and praise-worthy, but it's likely that the "Vignes des Mon Pere" is the pinnacle of his fastidious winemaking. Even Ganevat, who during tastings seems proud of his wines but does not generally say much, poured the "Vignes des Mon Pere" and said, "there's nothing else like it."
He is spot on, of course. His "Vignes des Mon Pere" shows a breadth and layered complexity that, hyperbole aside, is hard to wrap your mind around. This is only made worse by the fact that the wine seems to evolve every ten seconds.
While Vin Jaune is made in an overtly oxidative fashion, the "Vignes des Mon Pere," despite being made ouille, or in a non-oxidative, topped-up fashion, shows some oxidative qualities. This is both because of the long, sulphur-free élevage and because Ganevat ran out of the wine that he had set aside to fill the barrel back in 2007.
For me, these oxidative notes only add more intrigue and complexity to the wine. When I say complex, I truly mean it - I easily filled up half a page in my tasting book with the note for this wine. Woodsy notes of moss, pine needles, resin, mushrooms are complemented by layers of Meyer lemon, grapefruit and tangerine along with nuts, quince and apple. There's a length that resonates and reverberates in a long, twisting fashion.
Though eccentric and original, the vocabulary that the "Vignes des Mon Pere" beckons you to draw from is one that's normally reserved for the great wines of world. It has such a saturating density to it, but it is also nimble and constantly evolving... at times this wine is nearly overwhelming. It seems to consolidate so much, so seamlessly, so effortlessly.
Jancis Robinson has called Savagnin "indisputably noble" - the "Vignes des Mon Pere" could certainly quiet a room where people would want to dispute such a claim.
For wine geeks, for "terroirists," for lovers of Vin Jaune and the esoteric greats of the Jura, for the curious, the explorers, the risk takers... do not miss the few bottles we have. This is an unforgettable bottle of wine.
To place your order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
Special Email Bottle Price: $90.00
No compare-at available.
Wine arrives February
NET | No further discount