Anne et Jean-Francois Ganevat Cotes du Jura Les Chonchons 2020

Les Chonchons draws on some of the domaine's oldest red-grape vines, rooted in a distinctive seam of grey Lias and Trias marl that Jean-François and Anne farm to strict biodynamic principles, right down to the homemade herbal tisanes sprayed through the season. In the cellar the approach is almost meditative: hand-harvested fruit, a gentle semi-carbonic maceration, fermentation on wild yeasts alone, and roughly a year's ageing in old foudre — all without fining, filtration, or added sulphur, the carbon dioxide from fermentation doing the work of protecting the juice instead. It's Ganevat winemaking distilled to its purest form, built to let a single, old parcel express itself with as little interference as possible.

The wine that results is delicate rather than powerful — a pale, grenadine-bright glass giving up fresh raspberry and wilted rose on first pour, before spicier, more mineral notes emerge with air. The palate is lace-fine and faintly smoky, carried by real finesse rather than weight, and it drinks best with a slight chill to sharpen its energy. Pour it with charcuterie, a simple roast chicken, or mushrooms on toast — this is a red for drinkers who want to see just how much elegance old Jura vines can coax out of Poulsard or Pinot Noir, and a lovely, lighter counterpoint to the domaine's more famous whites.