KERMIT LYNCH WINE MERCHANT

Château Thivin

It is no surprise that Château Thivin is the benchmark domaine of the Côte de Brouilly; everything about it is exceptional. Built in the fifteenth century on an ancient volcano which juts out steeply into the valley below, Thivin is the oldest estate on Mont Brouilly. Even more important, however, is its tremendous success since farmer Zaccharie Geoffray purchased the château with its two hectares of land at auction in 1877. His son Claude expanded the property over the next few decades, and his son, also named Claude, boosted the prestige of the zone in the face of the Great Depression when he played a pivotal role in the creation of the Côte de Brouilly appellation. With his wife Yvonne, he also helped to bring greater recognition to the entire region with the establishment of the Maison du Beaujolais in 1953. Over the years the family continued to promote the appellation, receiving many influential artists and journalists at the château. The French novelist, Colette, wrote admiringly of her visit to Thivin, for example. In 1976, Richard Olney took Kermit to visit on their first wine trip together.  It was Olney’s top recommendation in the whole of the Beaujolais region.  The current generation of the Geoffray family continues their tradition. Today their grandnephew Claude, his wife Evelyne, and their son Claude-Edouard continue the tradition as staunch and proud defenders of the terroir of the Côte de Brouilly.
Thivin’s Côte de Brouilly parcels are predominantly south-facing and are planted entirely with Gamay vines that average 50 years of age. The soil is plowed and composted regularly while cover crops are left between some rows to encourage microbiotic activity. Absolutely no insecticides are used. On a slope with a grade of 48% and crumbly surface, implementing these techniques is essential to safeguard the soil from erosion, but it isn’t easy! Each section of the vineyard is harvested and vinified separately to preserve the unique characteristics afforded by variations in exposure and altitude. Even the estate’s vineyards in the Brouilly appellation are planted on a moderately steep hillside of decomposed pink granite, while most of the appellation is planted on the flat valley floor. Traditional whole-cluster fermentation keeps the characteristic fruity qualities of Gamay, after which the grapes are transferred to cuves by gravity without being crushed. Each vintage spends a few months in large oak foudres before bottling. The resulting wines, according to Kermit, resemble “…a country squire who is not afraid to get his boots muddy. Handsome, virile, earthy, and an aristocrat.”

Domaine Les Mille Vignes

Not until Jacques Guérin retired from his post as an oenology professor in Orange did he found Domaine Les Mille Vignes. In the late 1970s, he moved to the tiny Languedoc-Roussillon village of La Palme, just a stone’s throw from the Mediterranean. Soon after, he began producing wine from nearby Fitou and Rivesaltes. The wines produced in the area at the time were certainly not driven by quality, but Jacques saw potential in the terroir and had a vision to revitalize his vineyards, focusing on low yields and organic principles, convinced that he would soon be able to produce great wine. Today, Jacques’ daughter, Valérie Guérin has carried on his ethic in the vineyard and cellar.

Fitou produces exclusively red wine and in 1948, became the first Languedoc AOC. The terroir is an amalgam of strong natural elements: clay, limestone, and schist soils; wild scrubland scented with thyme and lavender, and perhaps the most potent force of all, Tramontagne—a fierce wind that sometimes seems it will never stop blowing. Rivesaltes and Muscat de Rivesaltes are both Vin Doux Naturels (a designation for naturally sweet wines from southern France) and are produced within the borders of the Fitou appellation. Rivesaltes can be a variation of colors and styles, though always sweet and fortified like its Muscat counterpart.

Valérie’s wines have gained an ardent following in Paris and it was from the sommelier at the Parisian restaurant “Frenchie” that Kermit first heard of Les Mille Vignes. During the summer of 2013 Kermit visited the domaine and returned saying that “everything I tasted was beyond marvelous.” These are the wines that he raved about in his 2013 NY Times Magazine interview. The addition of Les Mille Vignes to our portfolio not only geographically fills in the space between Banyuls and Corbières but adds true depth and variety to our wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon.

Thomas Jefferson imported impressive quantities of such wines for his own cellar.

Kuentz-Bas

Maison Kuentz-Bas was first established by the Kuentz family in 1795, and the domaine as we know it today was forged through a marriage that joined the Kuentz and Bas families in 1895. Nestled in the town of Husseren-les-Châteaux, it sits at one of the highest points in Alsace, and the vineyards stretch out from the village over an area of ten hectares. More than two hundred years of tradition and vineyard pedigree have made these wines perennial favorites, with the grand crus of Eichberg and Pfersigberg earning the highest esteem. However, when the family sold the property to famed vigneron Jean-Baptiste Adam in 2004, many wondered what direction the new team would take. Adam, like the estate’s former owners, has a reputation for being an advocate of Alsatian terroir, and he is the fourteenth generation to continue a family winemaking tradition that began as early as 1614. Eager to restore Kuentz-Bas to its former glory, Adam lowered yields significantly and reverted to natural methods, following organic and biodynamic approaches to vineyard work.

Meticulous attention to detail is the defining characteristic of both the viticulture and the vinification at Maison Kuentz-Bas. Winemaker Samuel Tottoli, who came on board in 2004, puts a strong emphasis on both terroir and accessibility. The wines are divided into two tiers: Tradition, a fresher collection focusing on fruit character, fermented and aged on the lees in oak foudre for 6-8 months and Trois Chateaux, from the domaine’s finest vineyards. The Trois Chateaux wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel cuve, then bottled and held for a year before release. Tottoli embraces hard work in the vineyards and minimal work in the cellar. Reduced doses of sulfur allow for a greater expression of fruit, and a drier fermentation yields crisp, mineral-laden wines with less residual sugar. The wines are therefore more open than ever while still reflecting the unmistakable character of the vineyards that clients have come to expect from Maison Kuentz-Bas. In Kermit’s words, “we can all throw out our old ideas regarding Kuentz-Bas wines, because the progress there has been remarkable.”

Pascal Janvier

Pascal Janvier never planned on becoming a vigneron. Though his parents had vineyard land of their own, they did not make their own wine. Instead, he went to school to learn butchery. However, Pascal made a sudden about-face at the age of thirty and decided to study winegrowing in Amboise. His serious and soft-spoken demeanor reflects a man prone to quiet contemplation and great deliberation. His decision was anything but a whim. Starting slowly, he has mastered his craft with a focus and passion that is contributing towards the revival of the small appellation of Jasnières, in the department of the Sarthe in the Val du Loir. The Loir is a tributary of the Loire River, and its viticultural area is the most northerly (and coldest) of the greater Loire region. The once proud appellations of Jasnières and the Coteaux du Loir (the preferred wines of King Henri IV) are now all but extinct, with still less than one hundred and two hundred hectares still respectively under vine. Pascal, with the help of his wife Dominique, is doing his part to remind everyone what Jasnières is capable of.
The Janviers rent sixty-six different parcels (a total of nine hectares) of land and farm it entirely themselves. Jasnières produces some of the best dry Chenin Blanc (Pineau de la Loire) in the world, and its wines are said to reach their peak ten years after the vintage. The soils of their parcels are comprised of clay, limestone, sand and silex (flint), and are planted primarily to Chenin Blanc. KLWM imports one bottling of their red, made from the lighter-bodied and elegant indigenous red grape, Pineau d’Aunis. Their “Cuvée du Silex” parcel has distinct flint in the soil, lending notes of gunpowder to this beautiful, crisp Chenin. There is no doubt that Pascal and Dominique have chosen the path less traveled, though at the first sip of their wine, one understands why they keep working so hard. Their stunning aromatics and complexity prove them to be one of the greatest values in the KLWM Loire Valley Portfolio, along with the celebrated wines of Château d’Epiré. If over-alcoholic wines are getting to you, Pascal Janvier’s wines are a great refuge.

Thierry Allemand

Like the Sleeping Beauty of the Northern Rhône, the appellation Cornas is at last awaking from a long slumber. Though these were wines once celebrated by Charlemagne, they have been regarded as the red-headed stepchild of the Northern Rhône for the last hundred years. Hard, tannic wines from the large négociants have given the appellation a bad reputation, and the rough, crumbling terraces lining the banks on this patch of the river have crippled even the most robust vignerons. In the early twentieth century, many vineyards here had already fallen into disrepair. By the 1980s, a slow insurgency of passionate winemakers started to resuscitate the vineyards, with Thierry Allemand deep in the fray. Thierry was working at Domaine Robert Michel at the time. Young and eager, he was learning the trade secrets of terrace farming, pruning, grafting techniques, and noninterventionist winemaking. Little by little, he began acquiring vineyard parcels that had long since been abandoned, rescuing some, buying others, and renting the rest. Insufferable work as it was, he dove into the project courageously: he cleared over-taken vineyards of weeds and scrub brush, reinforced terraces, rebuilt walls, and replanted. All by hand. Though it took him fifteen years before he could afford to fully dedicate himself to his own domaine (he earned his living as an electrician!), the quiet, monastic Thierry Allemand had already become a legend.
The not-even-five hectares of land that he farms almost seem abundant when one considers the diversity and challenge that each parcel presents. Despite the critiques earned when Cornas was considered to be in decline, some claim that it possesses the best microclimates and the greatest terroirs of the Northern Rhône. Stacked onto the hills of the western bank of the Rhône River, the vines of Cornas enjoy maximum sun exposure, facing south by southeast. The slopes are composed of both limestone and granite, though Thierry’s parcels lie predominately upon sturdy, granite subsoil with some clay. The sun exposure of his vineyards are of particular note, as they are inclined to early ripeness. Thierry vinifies each parcel individually, bringing prestige and recognition back to even the smallest lieux-dits of Cornas. His commitment to minimal doses of sulfur dioxide puts him in the same school of thought as such renowned traditionalists as Marcel Lapierre (Beaujolais), Domaine Gramenon (Southern Rhône), and Domaine Léon Barral (Languedoc). The cult status that Thierry’s wines have achieved is well-earned praise for this quiet hero of Cornas.

Château La Grave

Deep in the southwest of France, amidst dramatic rock formations and cliffs, the Lot River slowly snakes its way along the valley floor, coiling covetously around the charming town of Cahors. The diversity in architecture serves as a proud historical mark left by many previous generations of inhabitants. Once a former Roman town, Cahors was also as a center of commerce during the Middle Ages that served as an important crossroads for pilgrims on the trail to Santiago de Compostella. Among the many specialties that have brought pride to the region, the constant has been its wine. A.O.C. Cahors is known as the “black wine” of the Southwest—the deeply inky, earthy wines that seem to complement the regional fare of duck (and duck fat!) so wonderfully. Cahors is also the birthplace of Cot, the grape more commonly known as Malbec.

Philippe Bernède is no stranger to the south-west as his family has farmed vines here for many generations. His Château La Grave stands out as it is 100% Malbec, a rarity here in Cahors as most often the wines are blended with up to 30% Merlot or Tannat. La Grave is an incredible value on multiple levels—it is a hearty, full-bodied wine to drink now and a top candidate for your cellar.

Château Feuillet

Maurizio Fiorano grew up outside Turin and moved to Milan for his studies, but his life took an unexpected turn when he married and moved with his wife to her hometown of Saint Pierre in the Valle d’Aosta. Fiorano continued his work as a surveyor, but his long commute became burdensome when the two of them started a family. By the time their second child came along, Maurizio had had enough and left his old job for good. He didn’t have any definite plans and he knew that his wife’s business of running a small inn was not for him. But she had inherited vineyards from her family, so why not make wine to serve in her restaurant? The idea suited him perfectly, and he went to work in the vines. In the beginning his production was tiny: he signed up to show his first vintage at VinItaly but arrived at the gargantuan expo with just four bottles! Today his production remains small, but he is careful to export to many different markets. He may not be born and bred, but Maurizio says he feels like a Valdostano, and this is his way of showing off the local products all over the world.

If Maurizio became a vineyard owner by chance, he was exceedingly lucky in the placement of his plots—he will humbly tell you that it’s not hard to make good wine here. The vines sit in a very shallow sandy soil, but their feet wriggle into crevices in the solid granite bedrock. Any rain is quickly dried out by cleansing winds. And the vineyards are planted on an ancient riverbed, where over the millennia the Dora Baltea River has cut through the mountain, creating the current river valley and leaving behind mineral deposits that the wines happily lap up. The trump card, however, may be the exposition of the vineyards, which in combination with the chilly climate, high altitude, and drastic diurnal temperature shifts provides the magic charm sought by vignerons everywhere: extremely long hours of gentle sunlight. In fact, the vineyards here capture the sun so perfectly that the almond trees scattered over the slope blossom at the same time as those in Sicily, over 550 miles farther south! This gives the grapes an exceptionally long, slow ripening season that in turn offers very unusual red wines with the heft of a sunny climate that are still refreshing and light on their feet, as you might expect of a northern wine.

Domaine François Lumpp

In the late 1970s, François Lumpp and his brother inherited their family property, located in the Côte Chalonnaise. In 1991 he founded his own label with his wife, Isabelle. Using cuttings of older, selected bud wood (sélection massale), François developed his domaine around Givry's best premier cru sites, which, as in most of the Côte d’Or, are situated on the mid to upper level slopes of the rolling hillsides.
Givry, along with Mercurey, is one of the two predominantly red wine producing appellations of the Côte Chalonnaise, while the neighboring appellations of Bouzeron, Rully, and Montagny produce primarily white wine. Givry is known for its refined and approachable reds, whereas Mercurey can often be harder and more austere when young. The best examples of Givry can have substantial structure, depth, and complexity, however, and can be expected to age as successfully as the premier crus of the Côte de Beaune, which is certainly the case at this address. François was one of the first to believe in the potential of Givry’s terroir for white Burgundy, and is reputed for his white today. His Chardonnays are a study in grace and balance.
The Lumpp domaine is an especially good fit here at KLWM because it embodies exactly what we have always looked for in Burgundy: a true vigneron in a specific village. Every wine François makes is from Givry, from vineyards that he planted and nurtured himself–something that is exceedingly rare in Burgundy today, and will become more and more so over time. An acknowledged leader of the appellation, his greatest achievement is harnessing the finesse we look for in Burgundian Pinot Noir—le Pinot fin.

Famille Brunier

Famille Brunier embodies the ensemble of the holdings by the Brunier family, notably Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Domaine La Roquète, Domaine Les Pallières (along with Kermit), and other vineyards for wines under the Brunier label. Frédéric and Daniel are the fourth generation of their family to farm the land of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The brothers have worked hard to solidify the legacy left by their father, Henri, and their great-grandfather, Hippolyte. They have brought their intricate knowledge of the various terroirs of the southern Rhône to new heights through the expansion of the holdings. Their properties represent a vast variation of soil types, climatic conditions, and grape varieties.
The Bruniers’ vineyards in the La Crau cru of Châteauneuf-du-Pape are the most pedigreed of the appellation, producing wines of exceptional quality and longevity. Since purchasing Domaine La Roquète in 1986, the family has complemented their portfolio with additional wines, offering more affordable cuvées that showcase the diversity of terroirs within their holdings. The “Pigeoulet” and “Mégaphone” are fresh, rich in fruit, pleasantly representative of their terroir, and easy to appreciate young. The red Châteauneuf “Piedlong”, sourced from the famed Piélong lieu-dit with some fruit from the Pignan vineyard as well, is a profoundly mineral wine that balances elegance and purity with the muscle that is commonly found in wines from this great appellation.

Yves Leccia

Yves Leccia has a certain presence and noble bearing to him, much like his wines. In France they have often been referred to as the “Rolls-Royce” of Corsican wines, a reputation earned after nearly 30 years of making consistently elegant and sophisticated wines.
Raised in a small village in the heart of Patrimonio, Yves worked alongside his father in the vines and cellar at the earliest age he could. The Leccias have been making wine from some of the finest terroirs of Patrimonio for countless generations, and there was never the least doubt in Yves’ mind that he would continue the tradition. Originally working alongside his sister, he decided to branch off on his own in 2004 and focus on the single terroir he felt was the top in Patrimonio. This terroir, “E Croce,” sits on a thin chalk soil above a thick bedrock of pure schist, facing the gulf of St. Florent. Yves is a firm believer in the idea that if you want something done right you need to do it yourself, and thus he tends to his vines alone and works the cellar by himself as well. He keeps his yields low, knows when to harvest, and knows how to let E Croce express itself in the wines. Not a single bottle comes out of the domaine that isn’t meticulously looked after from start to finish.
In Corsica, Yves is celebrated not only for his wines, but also for being a founding member of A Filetta, a legendary and proudly nationalistic Corsican polyphonic singing group. Spend some time with Yves and you won’t hear him boast or even talk much about his accomplishments. His name, Leccia, is Corsican for Oak. The name is ironic if you look at Yves’ wines, given that he’s never had his wine touch a single oak barrel and has never allowed wood to enter his cellar. The name is less ironic if you look at Yves himself, with his stoic manner and understated personality.
Kermit touts the aging capacity of Yves’ reds. He opened a 1998 in 2010 that he still talks about, comparing it to the best the south of France has to offer.