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, Adventures on the Wine Route

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)

2007 Tempier Cuvee Tourtine

… and would do injustice to not speak of Colin-Delenger Fils 1er Cru Les Chenevottes or Raveneau Clos & Blanchot 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 …

ausauvignon

In March 2010, again I traveled throughout a country that ”disparages herself; she is not self conscious” (…and as she demands, without regret). As emptied-bottles beget “Bon Voyage” (”I am not cut from the cloth of an archaeologist; I derive more joy from emptying bottles than ‘discovering’ them already emptied”), including 1982 Latour, 1988 Bollinger RD, 1989 Ramonet Batard Montrachet, 1989 Cheval Blanc, 1989 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo, 1989 Guigal La Turque, 1998 Allemand Reynard, 2002 Roederer Cristal et al, I found myself satiated for:

1980 Vieux Telegraphe (mag)

1989 Allemand Reynard

1989 Les Varennes du Grand Clos Joguet

1992 Jobard Genevrieres

1996 Vieux Telegraphe (mag)

1999 Clos du Chene Vert Joguet

1999 Vieux Telegraphe Blanc (mag)

1999 Marc de Vieux Telegraphe (Thanks K.M.)

2000 Allemand Sans Soufre

2001 Clos du Chene Vert Joguet

2001 Maume Mazis-Chambertin

2002 Clos du Chene Vert Joguet

2002 Allemand Sans Soufre

…and again would do injustice to not speak of Kermit’s nasophilia for ’snowy, fortified towns’ (aka White Burg) including Savary’s Fourchaume, Costal’s Les Truffieres, Cadette’s La Chateleine, Roulot’s Les Meix Chavaux, Jobard’s Poruzots, Cherisey’s Chalumeaux & Genelotte, Amiot’s Montrachet, de Villaine’s Aligote (….and Nevermore, Raveneau sitting on the pallid bust of Pallas); meanwhile darkness peering (aka Red Burg) reveals Maume’s En Pallud & Mazis-Chambertin, Boillot’s La Perriere & Corbeaux and Chevillon’s Vaucrains as the Balm of Gilead heals with Thivin’s Zaccharie, Lapierre’s Morgon, Thevenet’s Cuvee Vielles Vignes, Tempier’s Bandol Rose & Cuvee Tourtine, Magnon’s Rozeta & La Demarrante and so many, many more… all to be shared with Sanglier at La Bouzerotte, Saint Maure de Touraine at Breton, H.L. Mencken at Le Gourmandine, Beef Bourgogne at A et P de Villaine, Castelas Olive Oil and well-prepared lamb at Vieux Telegraphe, a beautiful drive through Les Beaux to Bistro Decouverte in St. Remy, a couple of glasses of Yvon Metras and Gramenon Rose to depart from Paris, and most importantly, a group of beautiful souls.

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 – Alsace — Francois & Felix Meyer

Domaine Ostertag — Alsace — Andre Ostertag

Maison Kuentz-Bas — Alsace — Jean-Baptiste Adam & Samuel Tottoli

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.”

Chateau Thivin — Cote de Brouilly — Claude & Evelyn Geoffray

Charly Thevenet — Regnie — Charles Thevenet

Domaine 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

Domaine Diochon — Moulin a Vent — Bernard Diochon

Domaine Dupeuble — Beaujolais — Damien Dupeuble Pere et Fils

Domaine Michel Chignard — Fleurie — Michel Chignard

Domaine Thevenet — Morgon — Jean-Paul Thevenet

Marcel Lapierre — Morgon — Marcel Lapierre

Nicole Chanrion — Cote de Brouilly — Nicole Chanrion

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 Aney — Haut Medoc — Pierre & Francine Raimond

Chateau Belles-Graves — Lalande-de-Pomerol — Xavier Piton & Sylvain Garoste

Chateau de Bellevue – Lussac St. Emilion

Chateau Ducasse — Bordeaux — Herve Dubourdieu

Chateau Graville-Lacoste — Graves — Herve Dubourdieu

Domaine la Tour Vieille — Collioure, Banyuls — Vincent Cantie & Christine Campadieu

Chateau Roumieu-Lacoste — Sauternes — Herve Dubourdieu

Chateau Tour Bayard — Montagne Saint-Emilion — Fanny Richard-Nicoletti (Michel Rolland Consultant)

BURGUNDY

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

Domaine A et P de Villaine — Burgundy, Cote Chalonnaise — Aubert and Pamela de Villaine

Domaine Amiot Guy & Fils — Bourgogne & Montrachet — Guy & Thierry Amiot

Domaine Arnaud Ente — Bourgogne — Arnaud Ente

Domaine Bizot — Vosne-Romanee — Jean Yzes Bizot

Domaine Regis Bouvier — Marsannay, Fixin, Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey St. Denis – Regis Bouvier

Domaine Buisson — St. Romain, Beaune, Savigny-les-Beaune – Christophe Buisson

Domaine de la Cadette — Bourgogne Vezelay, Bourgogne Blanc — Jean Montanet

Bruno Colin — Chassagne-Montrachet — Bruno Colin

Domaine Costal — Chablis — Jean and Gilles Collet

Domaine Francois Bertheau — Chambolle Musigny — Pierre et Francois Bertheau

Domaine Francois Raveneau — Chablis — Bernard et Jean-Marie Raveneau

Domaine Henri Perrusset — Macon & Macon-Farges — Henri Perrusset

Domaine Lucien Boillot — Burgundy — Pierre Boillot

Domaine Maume — Burgundy, Gevrey-Chambertin & Mazis-Chambertin — Bertrand Maum

Domaine Roulot — Burgundy & Meursault — Jean-Marc Roulot

Domaine Gachot Monot – Cote de Nuits Villages — Damien Gachot

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

Domaine Robert Chevillon — Burgundy — Robert Chevillon

Domaine Robert-Denogent — Pouilly-Fuisse — Jean-Jacques Robert

Domaine Savary — Chablis — Olivier Savary

Domaine Francois Jobard — Meursault — Francois et Marie Claire Jobard

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

Comtesse Bernard de Cherisey — Puligny Montrachet, Meursault — Helene & 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.”

Domaine J. Lassalle — Champagne — Chantal Lassalle Decelle

Domaine Paul Bara — Champagne — Paul Bara

Veuve Fourny & Fils – Champagne Cote Blanc — Monique, Emmanuel & Charles-Henry 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-ROUSSILLON

“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

Domaine de Fontsainte — Corbieres — Yves and Bruno Laboucarie

Domaine du Poujol — Coteaux du Languedoc — Kimberly & Robert Cripps

Chateau La Roque — Pic St. Loup — Jacques Figuette

Chateau de Lascaux — Coteaux du Languedoc — Jean-Benoit Cavalier

Mas Champart – St. Chinian — Isabelle & Mathieu Champart

Mas Gabinele — Faugeres — Thierry Rodriguez

Maxime Magnon — Corbieres — Maxime Magnon

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 & Pierre Breton — Bourgueil & Chinon — Catherine & Pierre Breton

Catherine & Didier Champalou — Vouvray — Didier et Catherine Champalaou

Domaine de la Chanteleuserie — Bourgueil — Thierry Boucard

Domaine de l’Aujardiere — Muscadet — Eric Chevalier

Domaine Charles Joguet — Chinon — Francois-Xavier Barc

Domaine Daniel Chotard — Sancerre — Brigitte and Daniel Chotard

Domaine Grandes Perrieres — Sancerre — Jerome Gueneau

Domaine de Reuilly — Reuilly — Denis Jamain & Stephane Vaillant

Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy — Sancerre — Michel Hippolyte Reverdy

Domaine Janvier — Jasnieres — Pascal Janvier

Domaine Regis Minet — Pouilly-Fume — Regis Minet

Domaine du Salvard — Cheverny — Emmanuel Delaille

Chateau de la Fessardiere — Muscadet — Estelle Sauvion

PROVENCE

“Provence is good for the psyche.”

Domaine Gros Nore – Bandol — Alain Pascal

Domaine de Terrebrune — Bandol — Georges Delille

Domaine Tempier — Bandol — Daniel Ravier

Clos Ste. Magdeleine — Cassis — Francois & Georgina 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

Chateau de Trinquevedel — Tavel — DeMoulin Family

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 le Sang des Cailloux — Vacqueyras

Domaine Les Pallieres– Gigondas — Daniel & Frederic Brunier & Kermit Lynch

Domaine Rousset — Crozes-Hermitage — Robert Rousset

Domaine Thierry Allemand — Cornas — Thierry Allemand

Domaine Philippe Faury — St. Joseph, Condrieu — Philippe Faury

Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe — Chateauneuf-du-Pape — Henri Brunier

Le Pigeoulet en Provence — Vin de Pays de Vaucluse — Frederic & Daniel Brunier

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.”

Clos la Coutale — Cahors — Philippe Bernede

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.”