Jean-François Ganevat - 'Le Courage' - Riesling - Obernay, Alsace, FR - NV

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Description Le Courage is Ganevat’s take on Alsace through a Jura lens—pure, old-vine Riesling grown on steep granite in Obernay, made with zero inputs and aged for over three years on the lees. It’s wild and focused at the same time: whole-cluster pressed, native yeast fermented, no sulfur, no filtration, just raw, electric terroir in the bottle. It spends most of its life in large old foudres, resting and evolving before a year in bottle to settle into itself. This is biodynamic, no-makeup Riesling with serious energy and Jura soul.

Tasting Notes
Smoky, salty, and mineral-driven on the nose, with layers of citrus peel, pear, pastry, and just a touch of white pepper and iodine. There’s a whisper of oxidation that gives it depth without muting the tension. On the palate: laser-focused and expansive at once—green apple, lemon zest, alpine herbs, starfruit, and flowers—wrapped in that hallmark granite snap. The finish hums with length and clarity.

Food Pairing
Killer with anything from the sea—especially grilled fish, scallops, or oysters. It also stands up to spice beautifully, so think Thai, Korean, or Vietnamese. And for a nod to its roots, pair it with choucroute garnie; the sharp acidity and mineral cut are perfect against the richness of sausage and sauerkraut.

Notes on the Producer

The green, rolling landscape of the Jura is a sight to behold, and the perfect picture of how a mountainous region nestled in between Burgundy and Switzerland should appear in the mind’s eye. In this cooler climate, vineyards are planted on slopes at varying altitudes and gradients. This region is home to forty different grape varieties with styles so different that they tend to shock the uninitiated. And at the heart of it all, in the charming hamlet of La Combe de Rotalier (just south of Lons-le-Saunier), Jean-François Ganevat—known as Fanfan—is making wine with the inspired magic of an alchemist. His wines occupy the better part of the hamlet, filling picturesque country cottages with barrels and barrels of his diverse, yet traditional creations. He comes from a long line of winegrowers, dating as far back as 1650, although the family supplemented their grape-growing with a dairy that produced milk destined for the local cheese, Comté, until 1976. After working both for his father and for the prestigious Domaine Jean-Marc Morey in Chassagne-Montrachet, Jean-François returned to the Jura in 1998 to take over the family domaine. Today, he is joined by his sister, Anne. With only eight and a half hectares under vine, the family has seventeen different local varieties planted of both red and white grapes—an incredible amount of variation to consider for holdings of such small size. For such a fervent perfectionist and insatiable lover of details as Jean-François, the decision to have the domaine certified as biodynamic was a natural choice.
Jean-François creates a stunning number of cuvées, ranging between thirty-five and forty every year! His methodology goes far beyond the details of the average vigneron. For some, his process would be maddening, as each cuvée calls for a highly individualized élévage. 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; his wines are entirely otherworldly.