Blasphemy to most, but I never had my moment with Jean-Francois Ganevat's wines. Perhaps it's my lack of New York wine school indoctrination, but I've found the whites harsh and masculine, muscular even, lacking in a sensuality that I look for, the reds amorphous and unstructured (don’t cancel me), and the deluge of négociant cuvées confusing in their intentions. Of course, within the oeuvre of a deeply prolific winemaker, I've missed some key bottles, but I generally lack the thirst for the wines, and seeing them on lists—even back vintages—doesn't seem to entice me. Alongside a lot of hyped Jura wine, I guess I just don’t get it.

That being said, there seems to be something in the water of Ganevat's disciples, notably the Jura based Katie Worobeck’s Maison Maenad and Nicolas Jacob, as well the wines of Damien Bastien Goddard's Savoie domaine Ca Boit Libre. All three students’ bottles feel almost like reactions to their teacher’s, exuding a more fluid and toned down approach full of nuance and subtleties—wines simultaneously both for a table and for the heady minded spiritual drinker. While we don't necessarily have the access to the limited Jura wines of Maison Maenad and Nicolas Jacob here all the way out west (of course), we are blessed to have a healthy amount of Damien's wines, and they don't disappoint. Showcasing a preternatural touch with Chasselas, an oft misunderstood white table grape that seems to grow almost everywhere in France, Goddard's work with the varietal makes one wonder why they haven't had more of the grape in their glass in the past. Elsewhere, his Altesse, an alpine fruit with similar qualities to Chardonnay, is perhaps one of the most drinkable examples of the cépage. A couple of vintages ago, Damien moved to a new facility, acquired some new parcels, and began working with red varietals, most notably Gamay and Pinot Noir. His reds retain the freshness and snowy minerality of the whites, yet burst with warm and juicy red fruits, like the freshest berries picked from some imaginary mountains of the mind.

Lastly, it's worth noting that the Ca Boit Libre wines take on a staggering amount of complexity and depth with even just a year or two of age, so buy a couple of each—one for now, one for later.

Mon Blanc 2021
Chasselas
$35



Mon Blanc de la Haute 2021
Altesse
$33



Ton Rouge du Lac 2021
Pinot Noir
$40