KERMIT LYNCH WINE MERCHANTS

“The fine black fabric of her blouse might have been diaphonous, but a look long enough to say for sure would have been prying.”

KERMIT LYNCH WINE MERCHANTS

www.kermitlynch.com / http://blog.kermitlynch.com/

“We are familiar with the values of intellectual dexterity and physical vitality. We have seen bewilderments worthy of Buster Keaton. We have been known to enjoy watching a Bandol rose dance like Baryshnikov. When travelling through the Languedoc, we dare to recite ‘that if mankind and human history were swept away the Comédie Humaine would be a perfectly adequate substitute for them.’ On occassion, we begin sentences with the presupposition that Rene Descartes, in his search for knowledge ‘in myself or the great book of the world’ (…through the philosophical exploration of Caps Lock; ‘when in doubt’…), discovered the necessity of a friend in the world. We enjoy discussing how few names fit easily into headlines like ‘Ott’; how Mr. Moore’s features in repose rather resemble those of Orson Welles; how the best thing a man can be is ‘passable’; and how a good story and a good laugh are essential to the Wine Industry. And most importantly, with the candour of a child, we believe in our responsibility to write about it, and to write about it very well. In the excavation of character traits, here you may discover at the very least a few that help qualify the distribution of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants in Kentucky as an honour and pleasure that we intend to pursue for many years to come.”

Since February 2008, I have had the good fortune of befriending Bruce Neyers, National Sales Manager of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants and owner of Neyers Vineyards. In March 2009, I travelled throughout France visiting several Kermit Lynch properties, primarily tasting and making purchasing decisions regarding 2007-2009 releases. During this two-week stint of “becoming locked into a serious wine-collection” with Dr. Gonzo, I enjoyed several beautiful wines/vintages that included:

1971 Clape Cornas

1978 Gachot-Monot

1979 Tempier (mag)

1981 Vieux Telegraphe (mag)

1988 Allemand Reynard

1989 Vieux Telegraphe

1989 Jobard Meursault Genevrieres

1992 Vieux Telegraphe Blanc

1995 Thivin Cote de Brouilly

1996 Vieux Telegraphe

1998 Tempier (mag)

1998 Jasmin Cote-Rotie

2000 Roulot Meursault Charmes

2002 Bertheau Bonnes Mares

2002 Maume Mazis-Chambertin (mag)

2003 Vieux Telegraphe (3L)

2007 Foillard Morgon Cote du Py (mag)

… and would do injustice to not speak of Colin-Delenger Fils 1er Cru Les Chenevottes or Raveneau Clos or the Marc of Chevillon and Meyer-Fonne or the Cheese Course with AOC-Corsican Honey at Etienne and Reblochon at Tempier or Terrine at La Roque and Gougere at A. et P. Villaine and a long list of other over-indulgent, hedonistic wines and meals including a 1990 Diochon Moulin-a-Vent Vielles Vignes at Michael Mina’s RN-74 in San Francisco, CA or 1980 Domaine Maume Gevrey-Chambertin En Pallud and 1980 Domaine Maume Mazis-Chambertin at Tom Black’s in Nashville, TN to celebrate Blake Layne’s Birth-Year …

Domaine — Appellation — Producer

FRANCE

ALSACE

“He still has humility, still has a sense of wonder, and is still capable of self-criticism. He is a seeker and a perfectionist.”

Domaine Meyer-Fonne – Felix Meyer

Domaine Ostertag — Andre Ostertag

BEAUJOLAIS

“It even serves to remind us of the first time man tasted fermented grape juice and decided it was an accident of nature worth pursuing.”

Guy Breton — Morgon — Guy Breton

Domaine de la Voute des Crozes — Cote de Brouilly – Nicole Chanrion

Jean Foillard — Morgon — Jean et Agnes Foillard

Domaine Cedric Vincent — Beaujolais — Cedric Vincent

BORDEAUX

“I checked the thermometor.”

“I like to taste through a cellar, several barrels, several vintages, appraise the character of the winemaker, listen to his appreciation of his own wine, look at his terrain, try to get a feel of what is going on there. Why does he do it the way he does it? I want to discuss the treatment of the wine at the all-important moment of the bottling. Will it be filtered? By what method? How severely? Is it filtered because he wants to, or because he feels he has to? By the same token, it is important that winemakers hear from those of us who are not afraid of a natural wine.”

Chateau de Bellevue – Lussac St. Emilion

BURGUNDY

“The word truffieres comes from truffes, black truffles.”

Domaine Bizot — Vosne-Romanee — Jean Yzes Bizot

Domaine Bouvier — Marsannay — Regis Bouvier

Domaine Buisson — St. Romain — Christophe Buisson

Bruno Colin — Chassagne-Montrachet — Bruno Colin

Gachot-Monot – Cote de Nuits Villages — Damien Gachot

Domaine Pierre Guillemot — Savigny les Beaune — Pierre et Jean Pierre Guillemot

Francois Jobard — Meursault — Francois et Marie Claire Jobard

Roland Lavantureux — Chablis & Petit Chablis — Roland et Brigitte Lavantureux

Comtesse Bernard de Cherisey — Puligny Montrachet, Meursault — Laurent Martelet

Domaine Vincent — Santenay & Auxey-Duresses — Jean-Marc Vincent

CHAMPAGNE

“To come down among this brotherhood
Dwelling for ever underground,
Silent, contemplative, round and sound,
Each one old and brown with mould,
But filled to the lips with the ardour of youth,
With the latent power and love of truth,
And with virtues fervent and manifold.”

Veuve Fourny — Champagne Cote Blanc — Charles Fourny

CORSICA

“Tino Rossi Singin’, Drinkin’ Mariani, Good to the Last Drop, Leave Some Sediment for Me”

Domaine Leccia — Patrimonio — Yves Leccia

Domaine Maestracci – E Prove — Michel Raoust

LANGUEDOC

“At nine in the morning they speak with the pomp of an Irish poet after he’s had a few.”

Domaine d’Aupilhac — Montpeyroux — Sylvain Fadat

Chateau La Roque — Pic St. Loup — Jacques Figuette

Mas Gabinele — Faugeres — Thierry Rodriguez

Ch. Fontanes — Vin de Pays d’Oc — Cyriaque Rozier

St. Martin de la Garrigue – Cot. Du Languedoc — Jean-Claude et Marie Zabalia

LOIRE

“They blew up the bridge, which Balzac called ‘one of the finest monuments of French architecture,’ and with it went the water lines into the city.”

Chateau D’Epire – Savennieres — Luc Bizard

Catherine & Didier Champalou — Vouvray — Didier et Catherine Champalaou

Domaine Grandes Perrieres — Sancerre — Jerome Gueneau

Domaine de Reuilly — Reuilly — Denis Jamain

Domaine Janvier — Jasnieres — Pascal Janvier

Chateau de la Fessardiere — Muscadet — Estelle Sauvion

PROVENCE

“Provence is good for the psyche.”

Domaine Gros Nore – Bandol — Alain Pascal

Clos Ste. Magdeleine — Cassis — G. Sack-Zafiropulo

RHONE

“Ask about her garden.”

“Seve, the sap or lifeblood of a plant, conveys an impression of vigor, of intensity.”

Domaine Achard-Vincent — Clairette de Die — Achard-Vincent

EURL Coteaux d’Avignon — KL Cotes du Rhone – Monsieur Chudzinski

Auguste Clape — Cornas — Auguste et Piere Clape

Philippe Faury – St. Joseph — Philippe Faury

Domaine Gallety — Cotes du Vivrais — Alain Gallety

Robert Jasmin — Cote-Rotie — Patrick Jasmin

Domaine Gramenon — Cotes du Rhone — Michele Laurent

Domaine Catherine le Goeuil — Cairanne — Catherine Le Goeuil

Domaine de Durban – Muscat Bd Venise — Leydier et Fils

Domaien de Durban – Beaume de Venise and Gigondas — Leydier et Fils

Domaine de Durban — KL Vin de Table Rouge & Blanc — Leydier et Fils

Domaine de la Gramiere — Cotes du Rhone — Amy & Matt Kling Lillard

Domaine de la Charbonniere – Chateauneuf du Pape — Michel & Mireille Maret

Domaine du Joncier — Lirac — Marine Roussel

Domaine Rousset — Crozes-Hermitage — Robert Rousset

SAVOIE

“I sought her by the incense-tree/ And in the aloes, and in the firs…”

A&M Quenard — Andre & Michel Quenard — Chignin

SOUTHWEST

“…Little by little the salon was filled with extraordinary figures, such as are found only in the etchings of Callot or the aquatints of Goya; a pêle-mêle of rags and tatters, bestial and human shapes; at any other time I should have been uneasy in such company, but there was nothing menacing in these monstrosities. It was cunning, not malice, which sparkled in the eye. Only in a grin of good humor could one discover the uneven fangs and pointed teeth.”

“Brillat-Savarin noted two features which distinguish man from beast:

1. Fear of the future. 2. Desire for fermented liquors.”

Domaine Etxegaraya — Irouleguy — Robert Rousset

ITALY

“It is curious to find our poet [Petrarch] out of humour with Flanders on account of the high price of wine, which was not an indigenous article. In the latter part of his life, Petrarch was certainly one of the most abstemious of men; but, at this period, it would seem that he drank good liquor enough to be concerned about its price.”