Inspiring Thirst An inside look at wines of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant.

The 2008s from Bruno Colin and his father Michel of Colin-Deléger were recently offered at pre-arrival prices. Sample bottles for our staff tasting arrived mid-May.

We found the 2008s to be beautifully approachable—there is much pleasure to be had now. They are complex, vivid wines, real stunners. They scream, “drink me” as the aroma draws you in.

Vintage 2008 produced crisp wines, with voluptuous fruit, and a deep concentration of mouth coating mineral. The presence of good acidity in a relatively full wine may sound paradoxical, but as F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “the true test of a first-rate mind is the ability to hold two contradictory ideas at the same time.” For our purposes here, we can amend that quote to apply to wine: “the true test of a first-rate wine is the ability to balance two contradictory characteristics in one glass.”

The entire tasting was memorable, and here are my personal highlights:

2008 Saint-Aubin “Le Charmois” 1er Cru · Bruno Colin

Like the name implies, this wine possesses charm. Part of the charm is the value— you will be hard pressed to find a better premier cru bottling at this price. Although initially quiet on the nose, after a few minutes in the glass, it really opened up. A touch of oak and smoky mineral peek through and continue on to the palate. The acidity has length that sustains the mineral for a very long finish. A truly magnificent bottle!

2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “Les Chaumées” 1er Cru · Bruno Colin

The Chaumées is the sexiest, most seductive wine of the bunch. It is fleshier and more robust than Bruno’s other premier crus. The lip smacking, youthful fruit and concentrated of wet stones last and last on the palate.

2008 Chassagne-Montrachet “Les Vergers” 1er Cru · Bruno Colin

Here is the premier cru that unequivocally needs time to age. There is texture, grain, fruit, and firm structure. The Vergers will hold on to its deep, complex secrets for as long as it can, or for as long as you will let it. Exile it to a cold dark corner of your cellar for at least 5 more years before delving into the beautiful juice in the bottle.

2008 Chevalier-Montrachet · Colin-Déleger

It would be a crime to ignore the Chevalier, the lone grand cru, the heavyweight of the tasting, which showed that it merits the title. Dichotomy abounds in the Chevalier. It is rich, with a profound bass tone, but with shrill highs and a racy nervosity. There is a dark stoniness and a touch of herb and juniper berries. The golden liquid coats your mouth with a finish that lasts for minutes but still remains lively, inviting you to take another sip.

Little needs to be said outside of “it’s here,” to excite people about Domaine Tempier’s Rosé. The 2009, like every previous vintage, is stunning, and lays down a serious argument for not just being one of the greatest rosés in the world, but one of the world’s greatest wines. It is just so good going down.

Like with top Bordeaux and Burgundy, many people can recount the specific moment they had their first taste of Tempier rosé. My story is neither sensational, nor romanticized in any way. My first glass was of the 2005 vintage, in April of 2007, while watching the Master’s golf tournament at my colleague Mark Congero’s house. I’d have to say that my favorite Tempier rosé moments have been at KLWM staff picnics, where water isn’t necessary and rosé is required.

The beauty of memorable rosé experiences is that most of the time it involves a shining sun, good food, and friendly company. Any rosé can set this kind of mood, but for some reason the Tempier consistently does it best.

And each vintage, our Tempier rosé sells out more quickly than the previous vintage, so you might want to act quickly so you won’t miss the 2009.

Do you have any Tempier rosé stories? Please share in the comments below.

The July newsletter is now available. Dowload the pdf here.

Highlights from this month’s newsletter…

SUMMER SAMPLER

by Mark Congero

Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.—Henry James

It doesn’t matter what the activity, I am much happier when the sun is shining and that little red needle is topping 75 degrees. That goes double for cooking, eating, and drinking. Sure, a hearty stew in winter or some fresh asparagus in spring are both lovely, but nothing beats a bottle of rosé, a backyard BBQ, and a few friends on a warm summer evening.

The quality and quantity of the summer harvest is overwhelming, but the food I anticipate most every year is a perfectly sun-ripened tomato. I think I could survive most of the summer with vine-ripe tomatoes, baguettes, good olive oil, sea salt, and LOTS of rosé!

Summer isn’t just about food, it’s also about having fun. The longer, sun-filled days give us more time to hang out with friends and family. We get to throw fabulous Sunday BBQs that start with cold rosé or dry white and go late into the night with red wine by the coals. Summer—when lazy is not a four-letter word!

With summer at hand, I have put together what I hope you’ll agree is a great mix of KLWM wines. In the carton, I’ll add some recipes to play with, and a list of some seasonal foods to look for at the market during the summer months.

Bon appétit!

Normally $197.15
Special Sampler Price $148
(a 25% discount)

PRE-ARRIVAL OFFER

2008 DOMAINE TEMPIER

What we call the cuvée classique from Tempier is the one labeled Bandol, the least expensive bottling. The 2008 is classic, complete, and ready to serve cooled down a touch.

La Migoua is round and deep with sweet fruit in abundance. La Tourtine is firmer, more structured. It doesn’t hurt to uncork them already because they taste great. Cabassaou? I’d save it for several years before serving it.

Inquire about availability in tenths, magnums, and jeroboams.

2008 DOMAINE DE CHERISEY

As you know, these white Burgundies excite me as much as anything we are importing these days. I have to fight with myself to keep my corkscrew away from them, because I want some aged bottles as I age.

The 2008s remind me of the 2007s. The color might be a bit more golden and there might be a bit more flesh in 2008. Highest recommendation.

Pre-arrival terms: Half-payment due with order; balance due upon arrival.

Today’s guest blogger is Delia Dent, an employee in our office in France…
Last week I had the great pleasure of spending a few days visiting our Italian estates with Bruce Neyers, our national sales director, and two of our important clients.  Every visit was a delight, both for the wines and for the experience, but I will restrict myself here to just one tasting.

The Sesti estate is relatively new to KLWM; we were introduced to them in the spring of 2008 and eagerly added them to our portfolio shortly after.  The storybook property, which has already been featured in Kermit’s brochure (you can see his wife Gail’s photograph of the castle in the April 2010 issue), was one of a chain of lookouts during the wars between Florence and Siena, so they obviously have an outstanding view.  The family now has a cluster of buildings on the property, a terrace and garden around their own house, and potted lemon trees lining the paths.  My favorite spot here is a deliberately overgrown garden that they created as an enticement and haven for all sorts of creepy crawly critters to encourage biodiversity on the property.

When I am in such company I generally think it’s wise to keep my mouth shut and my ears open so I’ll learn as much as possible, but there is a quality to these wines that has struck me ever since I first visited this estate that I think is worth mentioning: I have always found the Sesti wines to be surprisingly clean (without sacrificing the least bit of oomph, of course), and this tasting reinforced that impression.  I would never have imagined that I’d describe a Brunello, or even a “lesser” Sangiovese, as refreshing, but the entire Sesti lineup has that quality.

Elisa Sesti

We started with the 2009 Rosato (19.95), which is beautifully floral over its classic strawberry notes and gracefully vanishes from a light finish.  The 2008 Monteleccio ($22.00) (which is an Italian version of the Latin name Montalcino, meaning “hill of the holm oaks”) goes down easy, with distinctively Sangiovese Grosso tannins and nice hints of réglisse and tobacco.  There is naturally more complexity and a bit of spice on the 2008 Rosso di Montalcino ($32.00), which is very mineral and has an impressively long finish for a Rosso.  The same minerality shone in the 2005 Brunello ($79.00), which has a slight metallic note along with the classic profile that hovers around earth, leather, and réglisse.

The series fluidly leads to the 2004 Brunello Riserva Phenomena ($110.00), which gives a richer, more developed interpretation of the same family of flavors with an exhilarating spicy side and, to return to my original point, a dazzling freshness that left my mouth feeling cleansed and ready for more.

The last red of the tasting shifted gears away from Sangiovese with the 2006 Castello Sesti ($59.00), a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend that shows off much deeper, purple fruits, rougher tannins, and grilled notes.  The Sestis always keep their white wine for the end of the tasting, and in this case the fresh, fruity 2009 Sauvignon ($19.95) also carried us to the table under an arbor in their garden for one of their marvelous meals with dishes that are as honest and natural as the wines.

Giuseppe Sesti leads the way to lunch

Thursday evening marked the first staff tasting since Kermit’s departure to France. The tasting covered whites, reds, and rosés from the Loire, the southern Rhône, Provence, and Corsica. As good students of the Lynchianesque tasting philosophy, we started in the north with the Loire and finished in the south with Corsica. Today I’ll focus on the highlights from one of our great Loire producers, Catherine and Pierre Breton.

We recently received a variety of the Breton releases, more than I’m going to list and describe here. We started with their sparkling Vouvray, the NV Vouvray Petillant Brut “La Dilettante” ($19.95). The extremes of sparkling wine we carry range from the ultra-refined, fully sparkling wines of Champagne, to Elvio Tintero’s frizzante Moscato d’Asti. In terms of sparkle, the Breton’s Vouvray is about half way between the two—what the French call pétillant. The appeal of this wine is in the character of that sparkle. There is a frothiness to it that is ethereal, enabling the wine to float weightlessly on your palate. The bubbles are rustic, as if each bottle might have a different amount of sparkle. Underlying the sparkle is the classic dark mineral character the Breton’s so carefully coax out of their Vouvray.

The “still” counterpart to the pétillant, the 2009 Vouvray Sec “La Dilettante” ($22.00), followed naturally. Jumping out of the glass was the aroma of fresh oyster shells and just a touch of sea salt. The 2009 is luscious, with a prominent floral aroma, and supported by nervy acidity.

The Breton’s refer to the next two wines as “Vins Nature”, described on their website as “Young, crisp wines with fruit, for a spontaneous moment of relaxation.” Catherine and Pierre either use vineyard names or cuvée names based on the style or character of the wine. The 2009 Bourgueil “Avis de Vin Fort” ($22.00) fits into the latter category and Catherine recounted the story behind the name the last time she visited our shop. “Avis de vin fort” is a sailing expression, playing off the phrase “avis de vent fort.” When an “avis de vent fort” (high winds warning) was issued, the sailors would issue their own warning—“avis de vin fort” or “drink strong wine,” so as to be best prepared for the rigors of sailing on a stormy sea. The “Avis de Vin Fort” itself is not a “strong” wine—it comes in at a mere 12% alcohol. It’s a fun phrase with cultural significance that is very similar to “three sheets to the wind” in English. Thankfully, to drink this wine, you do not need to be preparing to do anything heroic; you simply should be relaxed and ready to have a meal. The “Avis de Vin Fort” is meant to be drunk now and has enough tannin to make it a great food wine.

The top Breton “Vin Nature” is the 2008 Bourgueil “Nuits d’Ivresse” ($32.00). This wine is one of our few wines that sees no sulfur at anytime during vinification or bottling. Just a tad of sulfur at bottling helps stabilize wine before the arduous trip across the Atlantic, but every once in a while, a winemaker will have a zero-sulfur vision and we accommodate that. The “Nuits d’Ivresse,” or “Drunken Nights,” deserves its status as one of the Breton’s top cuvées as it possesses an elegance and complexity their more “frivolous” wines don’t. This wine bursts with fresh fruit character and has just a brush of tannin. Our man in France, Dixon Brooke, recommends drinking this now, and if you desire, aging it in an ice-cold cellar. The sentiment of aging the “Nuits d’Ivresse” was confirmed by another colleague who recently had a stunning 2002—it was worth the wait.

Catherine Breton during the 2008 harvest