Featured Producer
Champagne Paul Bara
The Montagne de Reims boasts some of the best Pinot Noir in the region, and Bouzy is its capital. The key to Bouzy’s inherent greatness lies in its deep, chalky subsoil which imparts intense expression of fruit and great mineral complexity in its grand cru wines. The village of Bouzy and Champagne Paul Bara are practically synonymous. As the published village historian, Paul is indelibly linked to the lore of his hometown. Many argue that he is their most renowned producer, being one of the rare récoltants-manipulants in a region inundated with the mass-produced wines of the large, corporate champagne houses. These récoltants-manipulants, or R.M.s as they are known, are of the few that still grow their own grapes and make their own wines. Champagne Paul Bara is the quintessential example, where everything is done with a personalized touch.Over the years, gradual improvements have been made to the estate: the surface area of the vineyards was expanded to eleven hectares (only 26 acres!), the winery and press modernized, and the cellar extended – and what an impressive cellar! It is carved entirely out of pure chalk and reaches a depth of over thirty feet below ground. When Paul returned home at the end of World War II, he found these same cellars raided, pillaged of nearly all inventory, and irreverently trashed by the German occupying forces. Of the few bottles that were salvaged, one can still experience the longevity and timeless quality of the Bara’s classic style. When Paul retired, he passed the direction of the estate over to his eldest daughter, Chantale, who has kept their family traditions and their house style very much alive. The Baras make their wines by hand, with low-yielding vines. Chez Bara, good maturity is ensured by prolonged bottle aging: four years minimum for the vintage Champagnes and two years for the non-vintage. Andrew Jefford, author of The New France, calls them, “…essential references for anyone who wants to enjoy and understand the ripe, dry richness of Bouzy…”
André & Michel Quenard
The Savoie is a picture of fairy-tale perfection: snow-capped peaks, green rolling hills, wildflowers, and cold, sparkling mountain streams. This idyllic region hugs the western Alps, where Michel Quenard farms twenty-two hectares of vineyards along the steep, terraced slopes of the Coteau de Torméry around Chignin. The limestone scree that dominates this vineyard land has brought great diversity to the soils, and consequently, the wines. His grandfather started the domaine in the 1930s. Though he slowly increased the vineyard holdings, he also sold off most of his wine in bulk. It was not until 1960 that Michel’s father, André, began bottling under their own label. Michel joined the domaine in 1976. Today, his son, Guillaume, joins him. While they are far from the only Quenards in Chignin, they are certainly the most well-known—perhaps this is due to the severity of their terrain and the quality of wines it produces. Andrew Jefford writes in his contemporary classic, The New France, “Michel Quenard and his father André are masters of the Bergeron grape, known in the Rhône Valley and elsewhere as Roussanne. They argue it should be limited to the best and steepest local sites where it can ripen fully, like the Coteau de Torméry, giving wines of real texture and perfume as it does so.” (p 122). We think it is one of the most unique and beautiful renditions of Roussanne in the world.Despite the domaine’s proximity to the Alps, the vineyards enjoy a surprisingly warm microclimate with southern sun exposure. Fig and olive trees are also found among the vines, unusual for such a snowy region. There are sixteen crus in the Vin de Savoie designation, and each commune is known for a different grape varietal. Michel’s vineyards are planted to some of the region’s best known: Bergeron, Jacquère, Mondeuse (also known as Refosco in northern Italy), Altesse, and Pinot Noir. Michel bottles eight different cuvées, seven of which are still, and the other a sparkling Vin de Savoie Brut, which is made in the méthode champenoise. The minerality of Michel’s vineyards expresses an alpine freshness and liveliness in his wines. His cuvées go beyond the simple “eclectic” that categorizes wines from the region; whether they are quaffed or savored, they are all unique revelations that reflect the complexity of their terroir and the fine artistry of this master vigneron.
Antoine Arena
Antoine Arena, like most Corsicans of his generation, grew up in a family that earned a modest living working the land on an island largely unknown to the outside world. As soon as he could he joined the mass exodus of Corsicans to the French mainland, in search of jobs and what they thought to be a better life. Several years later in the mid 1970s, with a promising career on the mainland, the Corsican independence movement exploded with violent confrontations between nationalists and French government forces, leaving Antoine stunned.In his shock and anger, he moved back to the family farm and decided to reverse the trend and remain on the land, as his own form of protest. Many others soon followed his lead, and for the first time in over a century, the emigration from the island ebbed and Corsicans came back home to reclaim their land.
To survive off the land, Antoine knew he would need to show the world outside of Corsica what Patrimonio was capable of. And so his mission began to make the best his land could make and to spread the word. He started identifying the best parcels and vinifiying them separately, and long before his time, worked the vines organically and vinified without any added sulfur.
From the beginning of the endeavor, Antoine and his wife Marie worked tirelessly to put Patrimonio on the map to the greater French public, and with quite a success. They brought fame and respect to their appellation and are recognized nearly unanimously as being the best there is on the island. In Paris, for example, Arena is a living legend and his presence at a tasting in the city will always guarantee an over capacity crowd. He’s close friends with the likes of the Gang of Four, Montanet, Barral, Catherine & Pierre Breton, and is as much of a bon vivant as any of them.
Now Antoine is joined by his two sons, Antoine-Marie and Jean-Baptiste who share Antoine’s spirit and continue to work the land and make the wine naturally, as taught from their father. Good thing is, this time around, no one will be leaving the domaine in search of a better life elsewhere.
Clos Lalfert
The wine bug first bit the young and ambitious Baptiste Lalfert when he tasted a bottle of 1974 Château Suduiraut at a family reunion. Though Baptiste does not come from a winegrowing family as most young vignerons do in France, he boldly set about creating his own path. After finishing a degree in Enology in 2006, he went to Burgundy to Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot to pursue his apprenticeship—a defining region and relationship that has helped shape Baptiste’s career. In 2007, upon hearing about a vineyard of old-vines Carignan and Cinsault that was destined to be destroyed in southern France, he returned to his native Languedoc determined to harness the vineyard’s great potential. Suddenly, Baptiste found himself a farmer of just over one hectare of land without any cellar space or equipment with which to work. Slowly but surely, he has found cellar space to rent, equipment to borrow, and a community in which he can spread his wings. True grit and raw optimism have launched this gifted young garagiste into France’s final winegrowing frontier.Baptiste’s vineyard is situated in La Boissière, twenty-five kilometers northwest of Montpellier, at the foothills of the Cevennes Mountains. This climate here is optimal, where cool mountain air prevents heat spikes that are often typical in this drier Mediterranean region. This type of climate also serves in creating balance in the wines—it facilitates a slow ripening of the grapes (essential for phenolic development) and translates into bright acidity. Finding equilibrium is the essence of Baptiste’s philosophy. As one of the newest additions to the KLWM portfolio, we are confident in his potential, and if his most recent vintage is any indication, we see a bright future for this passionate newcomer.
Domaine Bru-Baché
In a tiny stone cellar in the mountain town of Monein, Claude Loustalot continues the tradition first started by his charming uncle, founder Georges Bru-Baché. Although the Bru-Baché-Loustalot clan has been making wine in the Pyrénées since the 1960s, it was not until 1973 that they first began to bottle under their own label. Like many smaller wine regions that were decimated by phylloxera from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth, Jurançon was one of the first to receive A.O.C. status, but has been very slow to recover its production. Since taking over the family domaine in 1994, Claude Loustalot has been bringing pride back to the Jurançon appellation and has taken steps to restore these specialized wines to their former glory.Claude farms ten hectares of terraced vineyards along steep slopes surrounded by breathtaking views of the snow-capped mountains that crown the Basque country. The majority of his holdings are planted to the indigenous varietals, Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng, the former producing a dry, crisp white genetically linked to the Albariño of Spain, and the latter producing an exquisite sweet wine. Claude has implemented biodynamic viticultural practices in the vineyards since 2006 (receiving certification in 2009), which has helped him achieve both purity of expression in his grapes as well as a completely interdependent ecosystem virtually right out of his front door, where sheep graze between vineyard rows. In his garage, he can often be seen blending herbal teas (or tisanes) like Domaine Arretxea, creating his own natural remedies for the vines.
Claude bottles six spectacular cuvées. In his bottlings of Gros Manseng, Claude plays with both tank and wood-aging. Laden with citrus notes and stony minerals (from the schist and limestone soils), these cuvées have terrific complexity for wines so refreshing and easy-to-enjoy. His Petit Manseng bottlings are simply divine. Through the process of passerillage, the grapes achieve an intense raisin-like ripeness by extended hang time on the vines. Their thick skins retain the sugars while preventing rot. They are harvested successively in November and December, concentrated and ready to press. Claude has carried the torch with such success that even the impartial reference manual, The Oxford Companion to Wine, continues to recognize the domaine’s Jurançons as among the best in the appellation.
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.
Domaine Antoine Jobard
François Jobard was one of the first vignerons Kermit imported when he began prospecting for wines in France in the 1970s. The relationship has endured into the next generation, and François’ son Antoine now runs the domaine. This is as classy and as consistent a property as you’ll find in Burgundy, and theirs are generally counted among the best Meursaults. Other respected vignerons like Coche and Raveneau hold these wines in the highest esteem and are generous with their praise when Jobard comes up in conversation. Among the highlights from the domaine is Jobard’s stunning Bourgogne Blanc, which is routinely one of the best to carry that appellation. Their Meursault En la Barre is an outstanding value from an assiduously tended vineyard plot located just behind their home, and their enviable line-up of premier cru white Burgundies includes Meursault Poruzots, Blagny, Genevrières, and Charmes, each with its inimitable charms. Recently, they added Tillets to their list, the excellent vineyard that Roulot fans know and love – a high-elevation, very stony lieu-dit. Finally, their Puligny-Montrachet Le Trézin comes from another steep hillside parcel above the Hameau de Blagny and is always textbook Puligny, chiseled and fine-grained.All the Jobard wines are aged in barrel and spend a lengthy period of time sur lie in their cellars in Meursault. They are the last of our white Burgundies to come to the market every year due to their unhurried approach to vinification and typically slow malolactic fermentations. In their youth, these wines are often tightly wound with an intense mineral structure that only begins to soften with extended bottle aging. Though François and Antoine work side by side, Antoine has brought his own signature to the domaine: a more sensuous approachability to the wines, most recently evident in the 2006 and 2007 vintages, which are delicious and ready to drink immediately. That said, the Jobard legacy lives on, and the wines will still explode with intense aromas of honeycomb and stone later in life. If you just can’t wait, there’s no reason not to uncork.
Domaine Coche-Dury
One need only speak of Meursault to evoke a myriad of questions regarding the village’s resident icon, Jean-François Coche. He began working in the family vineyards alongside his father, Georges, at the age of fourteen, becoming the third generation of Coches to tend these vines. His marriage to Odile Dury in 1975 added to the family holdings, which lead to the formation of Domaine Coche-Dury. Since then, the enigmatic, modest, Jean-François has only reluctantly accepted the celebrity status of his wines. When asked, he would be most likely say that it is rigor, constant vigilance, and adherence to old-school tradition that makes the wines so special. Jean-François’ heritage seems more closely linked to the studious, farmer-monks that once propagated this area of Burgundy during the Middle Ages than to the stocky Gauls of lore, as his work style is almost hermetical. When Kermit, Coche’s biggest single client, calls for a rendezvous, he is always told, “Only in the evening when I come back from the vines.” Today, his son, Raphaël, has taken the reins with his wife, Charline, and the two continue the family tradition with great reverence.The Coches farm almost nine hectares of vineyards on minuscule parcels over six communes: Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Auxey-Duresses, Monthelie, and Volnay. Approximately half of their holdings are situated around their hometown of Meursault, with their parcels of Bourgogne surrounding the home and winery. Though they are best known for their Chardonnay, they also bottle six exquisite Pinot Noirs. No clones of any kind are planted—an absolute rarity in Burgundy, where cold, humid winters, spontaneous springtime hail storms, and harvest rains all make farming a challenge. Once in the cellar, vinifications are long and traditional, with extended lees contact. This extra time on the lees prevents oxidation and works in tandem with the terrific freshness his grapes achieve. A good proportion of new wood is used, not to influence the taste of the wine, but rather to extend the cellar-aging potential of these pedigreed wines and to serve as a clean slate for perfect fruit. Coche believes strongly that the white wines of Burgundy should have nerve, and his are never among the ripest or highest in alcohol of his colleagues. It is their vibrant acidity, often hidden in the opulence that helps them to age so successfully and predictably. Though their bottlings are extremely limited, any chance to taste the wines of Coche-Dury promises a rare glimpse into some of the greatest vineyard management and winemaking in the world.
Domaine de Marquiliani
The village of Aghione is not far from the old Roman capitol of Corsica on the eastern coast of the island, poetically known as the Costa Serena. Flanked against the Corsican Mountains where the flats begin to rise into the hills, this small village of 235 inhabitants is just as celebrated today for its sulfur springs, olive groves, and vineyards as it was thousands of years ago. The enduring legacy is no coincidence—cool nights, high altitude, and the soil help the grapes retain their freshness and allow for a slow, even ripening. The terraced land of Aghione is a mix of schist and granite gravel with silt that has descended from the mountains over the last ten thousand years.The Amalric family has farmed Domaine de Marquiliani since the 1950s, nearly twenty years after the two hundred-year-old domaine was destroyed in a fire and abandoned. The Amalrics bought the property and replanted the vineyards. Daniel Amalric earned great recognition for his wines, as he was the first to plant Niellucciu and Syrah on this side of the island. In 1995, he was joined by his daughter, Anne, an agricultural chemist who had returned from mainland France to take her place at the family farm. Initially, Anne put her energy into planting olive and almond trees. Her determination has not been in vain, as Domaine de Marquiliani’s olive oil is widely regarded as the best in Corsica. Recently, Anne has turned her focus back to the vineyards, which are well-rested after a long hiatus. She still works side-by-side with her father and is quick to credit him as her guiding light in the vineyards and the cellar. In spite of her modesty, Anne has become a success in her own right. Her wine made an instant impression on Kermit, who raves, “Drinking her rosé is like drinking a cloud. There’s an absolute weightlessness to it. Nothing is left on the palate but perfume.”
Marcel Lapierre
Little would we know that when Marcel Lapierre took over the family domaine from his father in 1973, he was on the road to becoming a legend. In 1981, his path would be forever changed by Jules Chauvet, a man whom many now call his spiritual godfather. Chauvet was a winemaker, a researcher, a chemist, and a viticultural prophet. It was he who, upon the advent of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the 1950s, first spoke out for “natural wine,” harkening back to the traditional methods of the Beaujolais. Joined by local vignerons Guy Breton, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Jean Foillard, Marcel spearheaded a group that soon took up the torch of this movement. Kermit dubbed this clan the Gang of Four, and the name has stuck ever since. These rebels called for a return to the old practices of viticulture and vinification: starting with old vines, never using synthetic herbicides or pesticides, harvesting late, rigorously sorting to remove all but the healthiest grapes, adding minimal doses of sulfur dioxide or none at all, and disdaining chapitalization. Marcel was recently joined by his son Mathieu, and together they took the natural wine philosophy one step further, following organic and biodynamic vineyard practices. The end of the 2010 vintage was Marcel’s last. He passed away at the end of the harvest—a poetic farewell for a man that forever changed our perception of Beaujolais. Mathieu continues the great work that his father pioneered with confidence, albeit on his own.The methods at Lapierre are just as revolutionary as they are traditional; the detail and precision with which they work is striking and entirely different from the mass-produced majority of Beaujolais on the market today. Decomposed granite comprises most of their eleven hectares, and the vines are an average of 45 years of age. Grapes are picked at the last possible moment to obtain the ripest fruit, which is a trademark of the estate style. The Lapierres age their wines on fine lees for at least nine months in oak foudres and fûts ranging from three to thirteen years old. These wines are the essence of Morgon: bright, fleshy fruit with a palatable joie de vivre that was undoubtedly inherited from their creator. In the words of KLWM salesperson Sam Imel, “They are meant to be devoured.”
From the Blog
International Women’s Day: Celebrating Women in Wine
by Katya Karagadayeva and Anthony Lynch
Growing up in the Soviet Union, International Women’s Day was a lovely holiday, a day when I got to stay home and receive gifts. Traditionally, men (or boys) honor their mothers, wives, girlfriends, and female colleagues and schoolmates, with flowers and small gifts. Nowadays, I appreciate IWD not merely as a sweet tribute to these memories, but as an opportunity to celebrate and be inspired by women and their achievements.
At Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant we’ve been very fortunate to work with many extraordinary, talented women. We would love to give them flowers today, but a better way to pay respect would be to tell you a little more about them. Spotlighting three “women in wine” is Anthony Lynch:
No celebration of women in wine would be complete without mentioning Lulu Peyraud. While her late husband Lucien is undeniably the face behind the wines of Tempier—and to a certain extent, the Bandol appellation itself—Lulu’s role at the domaine over the decades has proven to be of equal significance. Known for her delectable renditions of classic Provençal dishes, the ever-so-sprightly Lulu—now 96 years old—will always come to symbolize the joyous, welcoming spirit that is synonymous with Domaine Tempier. The legendary banquets she organized will be remembered by many a lucky guest at the Domaine, but it is Lulu’s open-armed generosity and contagious laughter that truly make this wonderful Marseillaise the First Lady of Bandol.
© Gail Skoff
Our next featured wine woman hails not from Provence but another fabled, picturesque wine country: Tuscany, home of the grand Brunello di Montalcino. At the Castello di Argiano, Elisa Sesti has taken after her father Giuseppe and is now responsible for managing the winemaking at the estate in addition to sales and marketing. While it remains a family effort, Elisa represents the driving force behind production as well as promotion of the brand via travel throughout Italy and abroad. Somehow, she still finds time to entertain guests at the estate, and can often be found sharing a bottle of crisp Sangiovese rosato with friends over an antipasto featuring ingredients cultivated in the Sesti garden. It is only logical that we raise a glass to this warm and caring woman to celebrate not just her role in the wine world, but also as a wonderful individual.
Elisa may be an exception to the rule in the wine world, as the vigneron profession is one still largely dominated by men. Nonetheless, more and more women can be found working the vineyards and running the cellars as of late. In the hills north of Venice, Cinzia Sommariva has taken charge of her family’s 35 hectares of Glera (the grape variety used in Prosecco), and the results speak for themselves. Her visionary leadership and flawless execution give a Prosecco of real class and character. Cinzia herself, consistently displaying confidence and assertive demeanor with no lack of charm, is the ideal spokesperson for this most elegant and uplifting of libations.
Growing up in the Soviet Union, International Women’s Day was a lovely holiday, a day when I got to stay home and receive gifts. Traditionally, men (or boys) honor their mothers, wives, girlfriends, and female colleagues and schoolmates, with flowers and small gifts. Nowadays, I appreciate IWD not merely as a sweet tribute to these memories, but as an opportunity to celebrate and be inspired by women and their achievements.
At Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant we’ve been very fortunate to work with many extraordinary, talented women. We would love to give them flowers today, but a better way to pay respect would be to tell you a little more about them. Spotlighting three “women in wine” is Anthony Lynch:
No celebration of women in wine would be complete without mentioning Lulu Peyraud. While her late husband Lucien is undeniably the face behind the wines of Tempier—and to a certain extent, the Bandol appellation itself—Lulu’s role at the domaine over the decades has proven to be of equal significance. Known for her delectable renditions of classic Provençal dishes, the ever-so-sprightly Lulu—now 96 years old—will always come to symbolize the joyous, welcoming spirit that is synonymous with Domaine Tempier. The legendary banquets she organized will be remembered by many a lucky guest at the Domaine, but it is Lulu’s open-armed generosity and contagious laughter that truly make this wonderful Marseillaise the First Lady of Bandol.
© Gail Skoff
Our next featured wine woman hails not from Provence but another fabled, picturesque wine country: Tuscany, home of the grand Brunello di Montalcino. At the Castello di Argiano, Elisa Sesti has taken after her father Giuseppe and is now responsible for managing the winemaking at the estate in addition to sales and marketing. While it remains a family effort, Elisa represents the driving force behind production as well as promotion of the brand via travel throughout Italy and abroad. Somehow, she still finds time to entertain guests at the estate, and can often be found sharing a bottle of crisp Sangiovese rosato with friends over an antipasto featuring ingredients cultivated in the Sesti garden. It is only logical that we raise a glass to this warm and caring woman to celebrate not just her role in the wine world, but also as a wonderful individual.
Elisa may be an exception to the rule in the wine world, as the vigneron profession is one still largely dominated by men. Nonetheless, more and more women can be found working the vineyards and running the cellars as of late. In the hills north of Venice, Cinzia Sommariva has taken charge of her family’s 35 hectares of Glera (the grape variety used in Prosecco), and the results speak for themselves. Her visionary leadership and flawless execution give a Prosecco of real class and character. Cinzia herself, consistently displaying confidence and assertive demeanor with no lack of charm, is the ideal spokesperson for this most elegant and uplifting of libations.