Barruol Lynch

Over forty years of doing business in France and Italy have given Kermit Lynch a level of expertise that few in the wine industry can boast. Countless hours with growers in some of the most famous vineyards and cellars of Europe have offered more than just a casual look at what it takes to be a great grower, let alone a great winemaker. Kermit Lynch was the first to champion the benefits of unfined and unfiltered wines, long before they had become fashionable. This belief is really a matter of taste, and the proof has always been in the glass, offering a purer expression of fruit and an unadulterated reflection of the terroir. Kermit’s conviction has been so strong over the years that he has been able to persuade even the most hard-headed vignerons to test his theories.

Long-term relationships with vignerons in every major wine growing region offer a tremendous array of opportunities. Every year, Kermit enjoys a creative collaboration with some growers to find the best of their selections. Together, they work towards creating a final blend that showcases the region in all its glory at a price point that is difficult to match.

Louis Barruol is an indefatigable force in the Rhône. He is the fourteenth generation in his family to be making wine at his sixteenth-century domaine in Gigondas. On what was once the site of a Roman villa, Louis’ cellars show spectacular remains of old, Roman vinification vats carved into the limestone.

While based in the southern Rhône, Louis is incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about the great Syrahs grown farther north—a passion he discovered he shares with Kermit, who over the decades has worked with some of Louis' northern Rhône idols including Marius Gentaz, Raymond Trollat, and Auguste Clape. In an homage to these legendary vignerons and the increasingly rare style of traditional winemaking they practiced, Louis became a micro-négociant, working closely with top growers in the northern Rhône who still work with Sérine, an ancient clone of Syrah known for its aromatic finesse. Producing only a few precious barrels of each cuvée, Louis is helping to save the authenticity and the identity of many great old Côte Rôtie parcels, as well as those of Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, and occasionally Saint-Joseph, by keeping them out of the hands of the large, corporate négociants in the area.

Together, he and Kermit blend our northern Rhône wines from a selection of Louis’ purchased fruit. Louis selects the best parcels he can find based on his intimate knowledge of the region’s terroirs, and upon bringing the grapes in his cellar gives them the traditional treatment of spontaneous fermentation without destemming, aging in barrel, and bottling without filtration. Once a year, Kermit shows up and either chooses to have a cuvée bottled unfiltered, or he blends to find the assemblage that satisfies his aesthetic criteria.

Technical Information

Wine	Blend	Vine Age	Soil Type	Vineyard Area*
Saint-Joseph “Les Cochés”	Syrah	45 years	Granite	Varies
Crozes-Hermitage Les Tiercerolles	Syrah	30 - 50 years	Granite	Varies
Crozes-Hermitage Les Batits	Syrah	40 - 50 years	Sandy loam	Varies
Crozes-Hermitage Tenay	Syrah	30-50 years	Granite	Varies
Crozes-Hermitage “Goutay”	Syrah	Planted in 1980	Granite	1 ha
Crozes-Hermitage Habrard	Syrah	50 years average	Granite	Varies
Hermitage La Pierrelle	Syrah	30 - 50 years	Granite	Varies
Hermitage Blanc La Pierrelle	Marsanne	80 years	Limestone	Varies
Côte Rôtie “Les Roses”	Syrah	30 - 50 years	Schist	Varies
Côte Rôtie “La Boisselée”	Syrah	30 - 50 years	Schist	Varies
Côte Rôtie “La Dorée”	Syrah	30 - 50 years	Schist	Varies
Côte Rôtie La Viaillere	Syrah	30-50 years	Schist	Varies
Côte Rôtie Nève	Syrah	30 years	Schist	Varies
Côte Rôtie Besset	Syrah	40 years	Mica Schist	Varies
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

• All wines are hand-harvested and sorted during harvest
• Maceration lasts 2 or 3 weeks
• Fermentation takes place in cement tank
• Wines are aged on average for 15 months in barrel
• New barrels are introduced to rotation occasionally as needed, with the goal of minimizing new oak influence
• Wines are not filtered nor fined
• Grapes are not de-stemmed except the Crozes-Hermitage and Hermitage which are 90% de-stemmed

Hermitage Blanc La Pierrelle :
• Pressed and fermented in Burgundian barrels
• Wine is not racked, fined, or filtered before bottling

Hermitage Rouge La Pierrelle :
• The lieu-dit La Pierrelle lies at the top of the hill of Hermitage, facing south-southwest, with a granite soil and galet stones
• The name, Pierrelle, refers to stones (pierre in French), and the stoney nature of the vineyard

Crozes-Hermitage:
• 2017 “Tiercerolles”: A blend of 12 barrels: 3 from lieu-dit Gervans, 4 from mixed lieu-dit, 1 from lieu-dit Tenay, 2 from lieu-dit Mercurol, 1 from lieu-dit Habrard, 1 from lieu-dit Batit
• 2016 “Tiercerolles”: a blend of 12 barrels: 4 from lieu-dit Besset, 2 from lieu-dit Batits, 3 from lieu-dit Habrard, 3 from lieu-dit Mercurol
• 2016 “Tenay”: a blend of 2 barrels, both from lieu-dit Tenay

Crozes-Hermitage “Goutay”:
• Fermented in wood tank for 10 days
• Aged in small, old barrels for 12 months, then 6 months in tank
• Goutay is the name of the lieu-dit from which the grapes are sourced

Crozes-Hermitage Habrard:
• Maceration lasts about 10 days
• Fermented in stainless steel tank with regular pumpovers
• Aged in small Burgundian barrels for 12 months, then blended into 1 tank for 6 months
• 20% new oak

Côte Rôtie “Nève”:
• 2017 “Nève” is a blend of 1.5 barrels, all from Nève
• 2011, 2013, 2014 “Nève” is a blend of the lieu-dit Nève, located on the Côte Brune

Côte Rôtie “La Dorée”:
• 2017 “La Dorée” is a blend of 1.5 barrels, all from Nève-Semons
• 2011 “La Dorée” is a blend of the lieu-dit Le Plomb
• 2009 “La Dorée” is a blend of the lieux-dits Viaillère and Champin

Côte Rôtie “Les Roses”:
• 2017 “Les Roses” is a blend of 3 barrels: 1 from Fongeant, 2 from Champin
• 2010 “Les Roses” is a blend of the lieux-dits Buffin, Brosse-Champin, and Fongeant
• 2009 “Les Roses” is a blend of the lieux-dits Fongeant and Rozier

Côte Rôtie “La Boisselée”:
• 2017 La Boisselée is a blend of 5 barrels: 1 from La Viaillère, 2 from Le Plomb, 2 from Besset-NE
• 2016 “La Boisselée” is a blend of 12 barrels: 2 from lieu-dit La Viaillère, 2 from Fongeant, 1 from Besset, 3 from Semons, 1 from Le Plomb, 3 from Nève
• 2015 “La Boisselée” is a blend of 4 barrels: 2 from from lieu-dit La Viaillère, 2 from Fongeant
• 2014 “La Boisselée” is a blend of 5 barrels: 2 from from lieu-dit Besset, 2 from Semons, and 1 from Le Plomb
• 2013 “La Boisselée” is a blend of the lieux-dits Buffin, Bodin, and La Viaillère
• 2010 “La Boisselée” is a blend of the lieux-dits Le Plomb, Nève, La Viaillère, and Champin
• 2009 “La Boisselée” is a blend of the lieux-dits Labrosses and Champin

Côte Rôtie “La Viaillère”:
• 2010, 2013, 2014 “La Viaillère” is a blend of the lieu-dit La Viaillère, located on the Côte Brune