Granger Beaujolais Blanc "La Jacarde" 2010 

Pascal Granger has been a longtime love of ours. His Cru Beaujolais Julienas is charming, beautiful and delicious. We drink it with, oh, just about everything. It is only recently that we realized Pascal has been making beaujolais blanc too. It seems Neal Rosenthal, the American importer, for both Bernard Dalicieux and for Pascal Granger, another excellent Beaujolais producer, brought the two together when Dalicieux was ready to retire. Pascal Granger took ownership of Bernard Dalicieux’s vineyards including the parcels that made La Jacarde - this Beaujolais Blanc. While 98% of Beaujolais is planted to the Gamay grape, the remainder is Chardonnay- the only grape in Beaujolais Blanc.

La Jacarde is a vibrant, harmonious, unoaked Chardonnay with the pedigree of the vineyard shining through. It gives the wines a great finesse with floral, fruity aromas and hints of citrus as well as almonds, mango and maybe even a little vanilla. It reflects the Jacarde terroir very well, enclosed between the Pouilly-Fuissé and St Véran appellations. It has lots of minerality keeping it light - mid weight, but lots of flavor so you can eat with it. Essentially, it's perfect for summer. 

La Jacarde Beaujolais Blanc    $18

meet the winemaker

Pascal Granger
The Granger family has been involved in the production of grapes and the making of wine from father to son for over 200 years. Originally from the village of Chenas, the Grangers have relocated (almost a century ago) to live and work in Julienas. Pascal Granger, born in 1961, is now the owner and winemaker and guiding spirit behind the domaine.  He is also the first Pascal, as every other winemaker before him in his family has been named Philippe Granger.

The Granger estate encompasses approximately 10.5 hectares of vineyards, 8 of which are within the appellation of Julienas. The domaine's principal holdings are found in the lieu-dits of Croix Rouge, Fouillasses, Gonnards, and Mouilles. The oldest of the vines (45 to 90 years of age) are situated within Gonnards and Mouilles. Pascal utilizes parcels in some of the best vineyard sites around his village to make wines of exceptional ripeness and purity. All the fruit for Granger’s wines are hand harvested and fermented at relatively high temperatures (35 to 38 degrees Celsius.)