Featured Producer
Podere Campriano
Almost all of the growers with whom we work manage “small family farms.” Then there is Podere Campriano in Greve-in-Chianti, who proves the statement more literally than just about anyone. This tight-knit Tuscan family lives in a humble farmhouse atop a small hillside of 2 hectares of Sangiovese vines. This is their little organically pampered backyard from which they craft a delicious range of Chianti Classicos in the tiny stone cellars beneath their home. It is all family, all artisanal, all natural, and all good. The only hard part is figuring out which is better: the wines, or the heaping platters of house cured salamis and prosciuttos and the local, aged pecorino cheese drizzled with their own homemade red wine must balsamico, all of which are permanent place holders at their table every single day. Thankfully one doesn’t have to choose. Unfortunately we can only import the wine.The three Campriano red wines are traditionally made and reflective of the unique terroir of the Alta Greve—dark, galestro schist infused wines with bold fruit and serious depth. All are 100% Sangiovese from three different micro terroirs (the upper and lower slope below their home, and a third hectare across the valley with a different exposition and more limestone). Their “IGT,” the way we like our “Super Tuscans,” is a de-classified Chianti Classico from their oldest, highest altitude vines, just to diversify their range. The extreme care and focus of the Lapini family and their dedication to organic agriculture impart a unique character and spirit upon their wines. These soulful wines are, much like the family, instantly likeable. Above all, and most importantly, they are delicious to drink at table, and we can't wait to make them a part of our daily life.
Éric Chevalier
Éric Chevalier is a rising star in the Nantais of the Loire Valley. For ten years, he sourced fruit for a large négociant in the Touraine. In 2005, he decided to return to his hometown of Saint-Philbert de Grandlieu, just southwest of Nantes, and ended up taking over the family domaine, Domaine de l’Aujardière, the next year. His father, a talented vigneron who did not bottle much of his wines and was well-known as a high-quality source of bulk wine, had stopped working the vineyards and the vines were either going to have to be pulled up and replanted, or sold. Éric was anything but enthusiastic. Little by little his passion grew, and today he is proud to be the fourth generation to farm the domaine. He is also proud to be bottling more and more of the family’s production himself. Éric sustainably farms twenty-five hectares of vines, producing wines of great character and finesse. He found his future in his family’s past.The Nantais is a maritime climate, and the vineyards are not far from the Atlantic Ocean. Consequently, there is an interesting variety of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks, as this area once was ocean floor. Of the twenty-five hectares he farms, a large percentage of his production is dedicated to the production of Melon de Bourgogne (Muscadet Côtes de Grand Lieu, mostly from old vines in the superb lieu-dit of La Butte). The soils here are comprised primarily of serpentinite and quartz, with the exception of his ancient granite parcel known as La Noë. The other half of his crop (Chardonnay, Fié Gris, and Pinot Noir, among others) goes towards the production of Vin de Pays du Val du Loire, and the soils are rich in granite, sand, and silt. Of these “country” wines, the most notable is Éric’s Fié Gris. This grape, pulled out of vineyards for many years to be replaced with the more profitable Sauvignon Blanc, is indigenous to the Loire. Also known as Sauvignon Rose or Sauvignon Gris, Éric’s vines are one of the few remaining strongholds of this elegant and luscious varietal. It makes an impression, with almost an Alsatian exoticism.
Veuve Fourny & Fils
Champagne Veuve Fourny & Fils is relatively new to the KLWM portfolio, although it has been an active family domaine since 1856. The estate is located in the prestigious Côte des Blancs, in the premier cru village of Vertus, an appellation that gives them the rare opportunity to grow Pinot Noir as well as Chardonnay. Brothers Charles-Henry and Emmanuel Fourny sustainably farm nearly nine hectares of vineyards and have been carrying on the family winegrowing tradition since 1993. Their “Clos Faubourg Notre Dame” is a rare jewel in Champagne, primarily due to the fact that there are few existing clos parcels left in the region. In this walled plot of land, their older vines benefit from a unique microclimate with deep, chalky subsoil and clay and limestone deposits. Southeastern sun exposure optimizes grape maturity in an area of France where ripe grapes are a precious commodity. Their other vineyards share the soil composition of the clos and get east, southeast and southern sun exposure.Veuve Fourny produces classic grower Champagne, raising pedigreed fruit, adhering to high standards, and hand-crafting wines that showcase the chalky terroir of Vertus. All of the Fournys’ vineyards are farmed according to the same meticulous practices and principles, and each parcel is vinified individually. The Brut ages in their cellars for two and a half years before release, the vintage Champagne for five years, and the Clos for nine years. The house style at Veuve Fourny is best characterized as classic Côte des Blancs: a fine bead, rich, deep aromatics, and a complex minerality emphasizing freshness and purity. The Fournys believe in minimal dosage for all of their Champagnes, preferring to let the individual terroirs express themselves more clearly. This technique, in addition to their dedication to partial malolactic fermentations in their overall blends, impeccable vineyard management, and their decision to age most base wine partially in barrel, all contribute to their unique style.
Antoine-Marie Arena
The path to becoming a vigneron was a natural one for Antoine-Marie Arena, son of famed Corsican producer Antoine Arena. Growing up at the family domaine in Patrimonio, Antoine-Marie enjoyed constant exposure to the wine world through his father’s work, gaining additional valuable insight from the countless other vignerons, sommeliers, importers, and other guests to stop by the domaine and enjoy a glass or two on the Arena terrace.In addition to his experience on his native Ile de Beauté, Antoine-Marie studied viticulture and enology in Hyères and further broadened his competences with internships in both Burgundy and Provence. In the early 2000s, he and his brother Jean-Baptiste joined their father at the domaine full-time.
As of the 2014 vintage, the Arenas have divided their holdings evenly between Antoine, Antoine-Marie, and Jean-Baptiste. The decision came naturally: in a typically Corsican spirit of self-reliance, Antoine’s sons will carry on the family tradition through their very own domaines, enjoying the autonomy to work the way they desire while maintaining close family bonds and a free exchange of ideas. “Although working as a family is great, the spirit of liberty and independence guided us in this decision,” explains Antoine-Marie. Choosing who would work which of the family’s numerous lieux-dits proved an easier task than one might expect. In fact, the three easily agreed as to how they should divvy up the Arena holdings, each claiming his favorite parcels to look after separately. “The method of working is essentially the same, but this way each of us takes more and more liberty with our respective parcels and with the vinifications,” he elaborates.
While Antoine-Marie continues to embrace his father’s philosophy—farming organically and applying a light hand in the cellar—managing his own domaine will also allow more freedom to pursue fresh ideas. He has already begun construction of a new cellar, right across the street from the family home, destined for crafting exclusively his own wines. The extra working space will allow him to experiment with new methods of vinification, as Antoine-Marie shares his father’s innovative vision and creativity. The highly unusual, yet strikingly delicious Vin de France Hauts de Carco, a skin-macerated infusion of Vermentinu from his steepest, rockiest vineyard, is a promising start from this young, passionate prodigy. There is no doubt the Arena legacy will live on through Antoine-Marie, symbolizing the best that Corsica’s terroir has to offer.
François Rousset-Martin
Blink and you might miss Nevy-sur-Seille, a village tucked away in the Vallée des Reculées, where François Rousset-Martin makes his wine. Albeit discreet, this part of the Jura resembles something of the American West—undiscovered and wild, and rich in natural habitat. The backdrop here is dramatic: Massive limestone and marl cliffs perched atop pedestals of sloping vineyards, and in the foreground, flocks of livestock grazing and snoozing the day away. Traditionally a mixed farming region, the Jura is witnessing a new generation focused exclusively on winemaking, and in the case of Rousset, redefining what we consider typical of the area with his vins ouillés.François first caught the wine-bug growing up in Burgundy where his father was a micro-biologist for the Hospices de Beaune. Childhood trips were spent in the Jura getting to know and falling in love with a parcel of family vines which he would later vinify with his father. After earning an oenology degree and continuing his journey in the southern Rhône and Languedoc regions, he returned to his Jurassian roots and in 2007 officially launched his winery. While his scientific background provides François with a literal understanding of the transformation from grape to wine, he’s most influenced by keen intuition, and winemaking lore passed down from his great grandfather, also a winemaker.
François's raison d'être is to better know and understand the incredible terroirs in which he is invested. His new project near the amazing town of Baume-les Messieurs holds great potential once the vines are of age. His current work is most focused on making previously inconceivable wines within the Château Chalon appellation, labeled as Côtes du Jura since he makes them in a non-oxidative (ouillé or topped-up) style. Vinified by climat with little to no sulfur and bottled unfined and unfiltered, the Rousset wines are complex and persistent, falling somewhere along the spectrum of floral and delicate, exotic and savory.
Lambert de Seyssel
Seyssel may be unknown to many oenophiles today, but the vineyards of this small appellation are regularly mentioned in documents dating back to at least the 11th century, and with the development of sparkling wine production methods in the 19th century a new Seyssel mousseux was created that quickly gained great popularity. Even Queen Victoria is said to have enjoyed the region’s sparkling wines during spa stays in neighboring towns. The “Royal Seyssel” label (originally called “Royal Carte Bleue”), launched in 1901 by the Varichon and Clerc families, was considered for many years to be the best sparkling Seyssel on the market. But when the operation was purchased in the 1990s by a large Burgundian négociant, quality suffered badly, and in 2007 the owners finally closed the local winery, keeping only the rights to the name ‘Varichon et Clerc’ in order to shift the name recognition in the market to their other sparkling wines. Dismayed to see what their great local wine had come to, Seysselans Gérard and Catherine Lambert teamed up with Olivier Varichon, great-grandson of the founder, to buy back the Royal Seyssel label and recreate the light, floral wine that was once so renowned.The sparkling wines of Seyssel indulge in the same méthode traditionnelle production techniques used for Champagne, and Lambert de Seyssel takes it one step further by aging the Royal Seyssel for at least three years before disgorging it, giving the wine more complex, distinguished aromas and a fine perlage than the competition, which ages only the legal minimum of nine months. The house style is also quite dry (low dosage) in order to preserve the character of the grape varieties.
Domaine Pierre Guillemot
Kermit says he has several great memories of visiting with the Guillemots, and his favorite happened about fifteen years ago when Robert Parker asked us to arrange a big tasting of our Burgundy selections. It took place in the cellar below our Beaune office, and Mr. Parker approved Kermit’s suggestion that we invite the winemakers to the tasting. The place was packed and there were over two hundred red and white Burgundies to taste. Pierre Guillemot was there with his big belly and bristly moustache. Everyone loved having him, because he wowed them with comparisons of certain wines with various characteristics of the male and female genders. Kermit noticed at some point in the morning that Pierre had quieted down. He looked over and saw that, as Pierre tasted, he did not avail himself of a spit bucket. Suddenly there was an “Alors, au revoir, à bientôt j’espère,” and up the stairs he went. Kermit followed and watched Pierre walk away, awfully close to a Charlie Chaplin pantomime of a drunken French vigneron weaving down the street, barely able to stand up.The Guillemot family has worked Savigny-lès-Beaune vines for eight generations (!) and produces wines with classic Burgundian finesse and balance, all while leaving us a reminder of Savigny’s rustic character. Guillemot is one of the quintessential KLWM producers, with wines that epitomize the local terroir and emphasize grace and elegance over power and structure. But do not be fooled into thinking that this means they lack aging potential; the Guillemots are very proud of their old wines and thankfully have the foresight to set aside a good supply and follow their wines’ development over the years. A recent tasting at the domaine included a 1989 and 1975 Savigny Blanc (that’s 35 years old, everyone!), as well as the ‘90, ‘88, ‘85, ‘82, ‘76, ’72, and ‘64 Rouge. There was not a single tired bottle in the bunch. We challenge anyone to find a better deal on Burgundies that are built to last like these!
Domaine Bizot
Jean-Yves Bizot is a rare find in Burgundy these days, and we are proud to represent him exclusively in the United States. His strict and uncompromising standards in the vineyards and his enviable old–vine parcels in Vosne-Romanée combine to give us a stellar lineup of miniscule production red Burgundies built for the long haul. Bizot is a professor of viticulture and oenology in Beaune who lives in Vosne across the street from Henri Jayer’s old residence. The two vignerons had neighboring parcels in Vosne and used to discuss vinfication from time to time while working their vines. Bizot decided to adapt some of Jayer’s techniques in his own cellar (in particular whole cluster fermentation at cool temperatures in conical wooden vats) and is now making top-notch Vosne that still flies mostly under the radar. Nowadays, Bizot downplays the influence of Jayer in his winemaking and has forged his own distinct and rigorous philosophy in the vines and the cellar.Bizot’s wines need time to open up and reveal their character. Even the village A.O.C. Vosne- Romanée will use about five years of aging to great advantage. All of his Vosne-Romanées require the patience of a premier cru.
Bizot recently made some exciting purchases in the far north of the Côtes-de-Nuits, terroirs that he believes are under-appreciated by the current generation but were very well known and highly regarded centuries ago–both vineyards are just south of Dijon: Bourgogne “Le Chapitre” and Marsannay “Clos du Roy”, and both are old-vine parcels. His range is completed by his magnificent Bourgogne Blanc that comes from an old parcel of sélection massale Chardonnay right next to Clos de Vougeot. Bizot’s wines, bottled by hand, barrel by barrel, without filtration, are serious Burgundies for the patient connoisseur, emphasizing purity, subtlety and elegance.
Vigne Rada
A banker by trade, Luigi “Gino” Bardino long entertained a dream of exiting the stagnant office environment and devoting his life to wine, his true passion. After years of studying enology in his spare time and numerous experimental vinifications in his Alghero home, Gino finally quit his desk job to follow his heart’s desire. With the support of his family, he planted his own vineyards and built a small winery, and in 2012 Vigne Rada saw its first harvest.The city of Alghero lies on the northwest coast of Sardegna, surrounded by stunning beaches and breathtaking limestone cliffs on either side. Conquered by the Catalans in the 14th century, it enjoys a unique culture with notable Catalan influence in its architecture, cuisine, and even the local dialect. Conditions here are ideal for growing high-quality grapes: fresh maritime breezes and the drying maestrale moderate the Mediterranean heat, while the poor, rocky soils are perfectly suited to the production of balanced, characterful wines.
Gino chose only traditional grape varieties to the region, planting one hectare each year between two distinct terroirs. Monte Pedrosu, where the winery is located, features sandy and clayey alluvial soils with abundant riverbed stones and quartz, while the sloping Cubalciada site is home to clay, limestone, and some chalk. Farming is sustainable, by hand, with help from the whole family.
Vigne Rada’s Vermentino is reminiscent of wildflowers and Mediterranean herbs, with a mouth-coating texture and clean, saline finish. Delightfully crisp in its youth, it reveals a surprising complexity and depth with bottle age. The bright, plush Cannonau emphasizes freshness over extraction, showcasing a lovely purity of fruit and caressing texture on the palate. Cagnulari, on the other hand, represents a local specialty of Alghero: this dark, potent red is full of sweet spices, black fruit, and tobacco aromas—there is nothing quite like it.
Like the man behind them, the wines of Vigne Rada are honest and straightforward—the result of a skilled artisan’s genuine passion for his craft. They deliciously reflect the coastal beauty of Alghero, and we are thrilled to offer them for the first time in the U.S.
Pierre Gonon
Pierre Gonon farmed some of Mauve’s best slopes in the heart (some say the birthplace) of the St-Joseph appellation. In 1989, he turned direction of the property over to his sons, Jean and Pierre. This friendly, talented team of brothers has since earned a reputation as the domaine of St-Joseph. This appellation sits along the western bank of the Northern Rhône, with its neighbor, Hermitage, across the river. When it gained its A.O.C. in 1956, the area under vine was very small, centered around the town of St-Joseph and neighboring villages Mauves, Tournon, and St-Jean-de-Muzols. The eastern exposure in the vineyards allows for fewer hours of sunshine, lending an unusual freshness and joie de vivre to these Northern Rhône whites and reds.In 1971, the appellation was expanded, and with it many over-cropped, forgettable wines soon followed. The Gonon brothers break this paradigm completely, as they both farm and ferment in the old-school style. They work their nine hectares of land without any chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides, using all-natural composts. They just recently started the process for organic certification, although they have been farming this way since 2004. Their low-yielding vineyards span three of the original communes of St-Joseph, all sitting on prized granite bedrock, the best of which was purchased from the famous Raymond Trollat, now retired, in 2005. Vineyards are replanted with cuttings from their strongest vines to perpetuate healthy rootstock and continuity of style. Once in the cellar, they ferment the wines traditionally in open, oak vats, with regular punch-downs by foot. Their wines are gutsy and wild, while still showing the freshness typical of the appellation.
From the Blog
From the archives...The words and wines of André Ostertag
by André Ostertag
Alas, I barely have any memory of my previous lives, and although I am willing to bet that I was an innkeeper, a drunkard, or at least your common wine drinker, as much as I search my memory I cannot recall what wine tasted like back then.
Luckilly, yet too rarely, I have at times had the opportunity to lower my nose into a glass of old Burgundy from the beginning of the century or a pre-war Alsatian wine, but each time a romantic dizziness swept me away from objective analysis.
One thing is certain, the wines of yesteryear have the power to set our spirits afire. Their rarity, their glorious age, and the weight of history, command our respect and impel us toward contemplation. Such tastings are always stamped by an almost religious emotion. And even if it should happen that such a wine shows a flaw or two, the emotion felt when drinking them renders the experience unique and unforgettable. Thus they will always seem superior to today's wines.
Nevertheless, wine has never been so intelligent as it is today. Our engineers, oenologists, and technicians of all varieties have made possible a spectacular leap in quality. Actually, good wine will soon become an everyday beverage found in bars, bistros, and shopping carts. Quality has democratized itself so much that Saint Marketing, who never ignores our weaknesses and who anticipates our desires, has finally cut us short of any sense of surprise. It is horrible to say it, but quality has become banal!
Above all, this kind of quality is a reflection of technical advances and consumer fads. However, true quality is that which succeeds in surprising and moving us. It is not locked inside a formula. Its essence is subtle (subjective) and never rational. It resides in the unique, the singular, but it is ultimately connected to something more universal. A great wine is one in which quality is contained. Such a wine will necessarily be uncommon and decidedly unique because it cannot be like any other, and because of this fact it will be atypical, or only typical of itself.
Modern man, in his eagerness to understand everything in order to master it, spends his time classifying, filing, and organizing. It is obvious that the indefinable, the unclassifiable, and the unusual confuse our modern thought processes. So it should come as no surprise that the notion of terroir suffers while the grape variety gains importance, or the "commercially correct" spectrum of aromas is confined to the fresh, easy, and simple to the detriment of more unusual aromas (mineral notes, lees, and so on).
Today the definition of quality wine is one that should give equal pleasure at any moment, night or day, from one's cradle to one's deathbed. As if wine were nothing but a vulgar consumer object, sleek and docile, a little pet devoted to not disturbing our moods or classifications. However, it seems to me that in the old days wine was more capricious, more erratic, no doubt, yet its personality was more pronounced. There were no clonal selections. Each plot of vines represented a variety of different rootstocks. A wine bore more than now the imprint of its vintage, because the weather conditions and their direct consequences on a wine were less easy to remedy by treating the vines or correcting later in the cellar laboratory.
However, the real change took place above all in the relationship or exchange between man, his vines, and his wine. Before, a winemaker had to maintain an intimate, direct rapport with the elements. He had to link himself to things, allow them to become a living part of himself, to penetrate his soul, his gut, in order to feel and understand them.
Had he any other choice? There was no protection against disease or pests in the vineyard. No oenology lab, no research centers. Only the winemaker himself held the key to “Le Grand Vin.” When scientific knowledge and technology are limited, our senses of observation, intuition, and sensitivity, all of which make up our subjective thought process, are heightened.
In the old days the wine producer had few resources with which to defend himself against nature. He had to figure out how to come to terms with her.
If I were to read something like that, I would want to taste the man's wine to see where such thoughtfulness led him. And I did. And now you can, too. “Wines that surprise and move us,” as he says. This shipment marks the beginning of our collaboration with André Ostertag. You won't be bored. --Kermit Lynch
[From the March 1996 Newsletter]
Try the 2015 Pinot Noir "E" >> from Domaine Ostertag, featured in our September 2017 newsletter.
Alas, I barely have any memory of my previous lives, and although I am willing to bet that I was an innkeeper, a drunkard, or at least your common wine drinker, as much as I search my memory I cannot recall what wine tasted like back then.
Luckilly, yet too rarely, I have at times had the opportunity to lower my nose into a glass of old Burgundy from the beginning of the century or a pre-war Alsatian wine, but each time a romantic dizziness swept me away from objective analysis.
One thing is certain, the wines of yesteryear have the power to set our spirits afire. Their rarity, their glorious age, and the weight of history, command our respect and impel us toward contemplation. Such tastings are always stamped by an almost religious emotion. And even if it should happen that such a wine shows a flaw or two, the emotion felt when drinking them renders the experience unique and unforgettable. Thus they will always seem superior to today's wines.
Nevertheless, wine has never been so intelligent as it is today. Our engineers, oenologists, and technicians of all varieties have made possible a spectacular leap in quality. Actually, good wine will soon become an everyday beverage found in bars, bistros, and shopping carts. Quality has democratized itself so much that Saint Marketing, who never ignores our weaknesses and who anticipates our desires, has finally cut us short of any sense of surprise. It is horrible to say it, but quality has become banal!
Above all, this kind of quality is a reflection of technical advances and consumer fads. However, true quality is that which succeeds in surprising and moving us. It is not locked inside a formula. Its essence is subtle (subjective) and never rational. It resides in the unique, the singular, but it is ultimately connected to something more universal. A great wine is one in which quality is contained. Such a wine will necessarily be uncommon and decidedly unique because it cannot be like any other, and because of this fact it will be atypical, or only typical of itself.
Modern man, in his eagerness to understand everything in order to master it, spends his time classifying, filing, and organizing. It is obvious that the indefinable, the unclassifiable, and the unusual confuse our modern thought processes. So it should come as no surprise that the notion of terroir suffers while the grape variety gains importance, or the "commercially correct" spectrum of aromas is confined to the fresh, easy, and simple to the detriment of more unusual aromas (mineral notes, lees, and so on).
Today the definition of quality wine is one that should give equal pleasure at any moment, night or day, from one's cradle to one's deathbed. As if wine were nothing but a vulgar consumer object, sleek and docile, a little pet devoted to not disturbing our moods or classifications. However, it seems to me that in the old days wine was more capricious, more erratic, no doubt, yet its personality was more pronounced. There were no clonal selections. Each plot of vines represented a variety of different rootstocks. A wine bore more than now the imprint of its vintage, because the weather conditions and their direct consequences on a wine were less easy to remedy by treating the vines or correcting later in the cellar laboratory.
However, the real change took place above all in the relationship or exchange between man, his vines, and his wine. Before, a winemaker had to maintain an intimate, direct rapport with the elements. He had to link himself to things, allow them to become a living part of himself, to penetrate his soul, his gut, in order to feel and understand them.
Had he any other choice? There was no protection against disease or pests in the vineyard. No oenology lab, no research centers. Only the winemaker himself held the key to “Le Grand Vin.” When scientific knowledge and technology are limited, our senses of observation, intuition, and sensitivity, all of which make up our subjective thought process, are heightened.
In the old days the wine producer had few resources with which to defend himself against nature. He had to figure out how to come to terms with her.
If I were to read something like that, I would want to taste the man's wine to see where such thoughtfulness led him. And I did. And now you can, too. “Wines that surprise and move us,” as he says. This shipment marks the beginning of our collaboration with André Ostertag. You won't be bored. --Kermit Lynch
[From the March 1996 Newsletter]
Try the 2015 Pinot Noir "E" >> from Domaine Ostertag, featured in our September 2017 newsletter.