Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
(Had to go for the cheap shot pun, many sorries.)
Last night, there was a dinner at Racines NY featuring the wines of Jean-François "Fanfan" Ganevat.
Chef Fred made simpler fare than his usual so as not to distract from the wines, but it was as ever prepared with precision and fantastic ingredients.
The lineup:
2010 Crémant du Jura - Even better than the 2009; this had fantastic depth and minerality. I came a little late, and I wish I'd gotten to spend more time with it. Tasting it again at the end of the night showed that it was still beautiful; a light hand with structure, but structure, nonetheless.
2010 Chardonnay Grusse en Billat - After the sizzling Crémant, this was a little more standard: well-crafted Jura chardonnay, as we should expect.
2010 Chardonnay les Grands Teppes VV - Much deeper and longer than the previous, nuancing its heft and brawn with accents and detail.
2012 Arbois Chardonnay Dolium - This wine was aged in amphora. Oddly, I found it discreet and not blaring its élevage. Sadly, it was a little lost in the shuffle last night; I'd expected something more special.
2011 Chardonnay Marguerite - Lovely old-vine melon à queue rouge from magnum; a little less leesy than previous vintages, and I like it that way.
2014 Y'a Bon the Canon - IIRC, part gamay from the Beaujolais, part indigenous varieties from around Rotalier, this was surprisingly dark and brooding; the robust Fleurie (or is it Morgon?) grapes ceding little to the Enfariné and other Jurassics.
2011 J'En Veux - Boy, do I. This was just fantastic, and again points to why the price of the goddamn thing has shot right out of our galaxy. (Well, at least, more than doubled in the past few years.) Lacy, delicate, complex, utterly gluggable - this has it all. I came back to it several times, and then later at the bar with the chefs and co.
2010 Savagnin Chalasses Marnes Bleues Ouillé - Historically, my favorite wine in the lengthy Ganevat roster; something about its offhand precision and compelling savoriness just gets me each time. This actually was very subtle next to the unnamed Savagnin it was poured alongside, but that made it all the more compelling. This was the favorite of Chef Fred, when the tasting later migrated to the (now empty) bar area.
2011 Arbois Savagnin Sous-voile - A sous-voile savagnin simply labeled "Savagnin." I don't know its story, but I like its noise. It's a brash wine; it's not subtle, but it hits that nutty note in a totally pleasing way. A wine of robust character; and why not?
2003 Vin Jaune - Hot year, young vin jaune. The man across from me and one seat down was having none of it. Someone else conjured older fare from Bourdy and lamented that this was not like that. Pshaw, I say. Of course it was nothing like Bourdy, and of course it was screamingly young, but it was so well-crafted and so great to drink (with middlingly aged Comté and Midnight Moon cheeses), that I did not care, not one bit.
Afterward, at the bar, we had some of this and that, including a very sadly stern and unfruitful, ungiving Lassaigne Rosé, and good-ol'-pal Selosse Initial that reminds one why that man has the reputation he does, and a suave Antoine Aréna Carco rouge.
And then it is east, for your scribe.
Last night, there was a dinner at Racines NY featuring the wines of Jean-François "Fanfan" Ganevat.
Chef Fred made simpler fare than his usual so as not to distract from the wines, but it was as ever prepared with precision and fantastic ingredients.
The lineup:
2010 Crémant du Jura - Even better than the 2009; this had fantastic depth and minerality. I came a little late, and I wish I'd gotten to spend more time with it. Tasting it again at the end of the night showed that it was still beautiful; a light hand with structure, but structure, nonetheless.
2010 Chardonnay Grusse en Billat - After the sizzling Crémant, this was a little more standard: well-crafted Jura chardonnay, as we should expect.
2010 Chardonnay les Grands Teppes VV - Much deeper and longer than the previous, nuancing its heft and brawn with accents and detail.
2012 Arbois Chardonnay Dolium - This wine was aged in amphora. Oddly, I found it discreet and not blaring its élevage. Sadly, it was a little lost in the shuffle last night; I'd expected something more special.
2011 Chardonnay Marguerite - Lovely old-vine melon à queue rouge from magnum; a little less leesy than previous vintages, and I like it that way.
2014 Y'a Bon the Canon - IIRC, part gamay from the Beaujolais, part indigenous varieties from around Rotalier, this was surprisingly dark and brooding; the robust Fleurie (or is it Morgon?) grapes ceding little to the Enfariné and other Jurassics.
2011 J'En Veux - Boy, do I. This was just fantastic, and again points to why the price of the goddamn thing has shot right out of our galaxy. (Well, at least, more than doubled in the past few years.) Lacy, delicate, complex, utterly gluggable - this has it all. I came back to it several times, and then later at the bar with the chefs and co.
2010 Savagnin Chalasses Marnes Bleues Ouillé - Historically, my favorite wine in the lengthy Ganevat roster; something about its offhand precision and compelling savoriness just gets me each time. This actually was very subtle next to the unnamed Savagnin it was poured alongside, but that made it all the more compelling. This was the favorite of Chef Fred, when the tasting later migrated to the (now empty) bar area.
2011 Arbois Savagnin Sous-voile - A sous-voile savagnin simply labeled "Savagnin." I don't know its story, but I like its noise. It's a brash wine; it's not subtle, but it hits that nutty note in a totally pleasing way. A wine of robust character; and why not?
2003 Vin Jaune - Hot year, young vin jaune. The man across from me and one seat down was having none of it. Someone else conjured older fare from Bourdy and lamented that this was not like that. Pshaw, I say. Of course it was nothing like Bourdy, and of course it was screamingly young, but it was so well-crafted and so great to drink (with middlingly aged Comté and Midnight Moon cheeses), that I did not care, not one bit.
Afterward, at the bar, we had some of this and that, including a very sadly stern and unfruitful, ungiving Lassaigne Rosé, and good-ol'-pal Selosse Initial that reminds one why that man has the reputation he does, and a suave Antoine Aréna Carco rouge.
And then it is east, for your scribe.