VdP, Extra Brut - Blanc de Noirs, Le Gd-Clos, J-M Novelle - 2019

If there is one thing that cannot be taken away from Jean-Michel Novelle, it is his sense of wine. And his capacity to question himself. Two qualities which are the prerogative of the great winegrowers whose wines we love, whether they come from Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy or elsewhere...Indeed, after having made a name for itself in the 80s and 90s for its powerful wines, produced by long maceration (for the reds) and very long ageing in wood - often new wood -, it has evolved over the last ten years towards a completely different style, without wood, without "malo" for the whites (and sometimes even for the reds!), turned towards gastronomy, bright, fresh, vibrant... But before arriving at this form of maturity, the road has been long. Before taking over the family estate, Jean-Michel was a brilliant student who could have gone on to a completely different career, but the call of wine was stronger. So in 1980 he arrived at the Grand Clos estate and rethought the grape varieties. The old Gamay and Pinot Noir vines were kept, while a large part of the Chasselas was torn out to allow the planting of grape varieties that were often new and therefore never explored in Geneva. History and success would prove him right, but not content with revitalising the Grand Clos and strengthened by its success, he took advantage of the same period to advise a number of estates throughout...