KERMIT LYNCH WINE MERCHANT

Domaine Gramenon

The seemingly reserved façade of Michèle Aubèry-Laurent melts away quickly when she speaks about her wines. As a former nurse (who often favored natural remedies), she has come to treat her vines with the same care, conviction, and passion as she had for her former patients. She and her husband, Philippe, bottled their first vintage of Domaine Gramenon in 1990, in the far northern-eastern stretches of the southern Rhône, in the town of Montbrison-sur-Lez. Philippe was a talented vigneron—both creative and edgy—and he loved to push the envelope of the regulations imposed by the I.N.A.O. In 1999, in an unexpected twist of fate, he was killed in a tragic accident. Michèle was suddenly left on her own with their three children, vineyards, and a winery to deal with. Crushed but undaunted, Michèle stepped to the forefront, boldly picking up where Philippe left off. Over the years, Michèle has discovered her own creative voice in her new vocation; in so doing she has catapulted Domaine Gramenon into cult wine status.  Today, she works twenty-six hectares with her talented son, Maxime François (a rising star in his own right), farming both young and very old vines alike. They employ organic and biodynamic practices in the vineyards, with a strong non-interventionist stance in the cellars. Maxime François has begun flexing his own creative muscle, bottling four cuvées at the domaine under his own name.
Domaine Gramenon is the authentic embodiment of the philosophies that the Laurents espouse. They do not merely champion organic farming, but they incorporate the concept of sustainability into their daily lives by growing their own food and raising their own animals. The domaine bottles an AOC Vinsobres and a myriad of parcels of Côtes-du-Rhône located around the domaine. Though Michèle and Maxime continue to test the confines of the appellation, the cellars are unsurprisingly old-fashioned. The Laurents use gravity-fed tanks and age their wines in oak demi-muids and foudres. That they take such gutsy risks as bottling old-vine fruit with so little sulfur, without fining or filtration, only demonstrates the lengths they will go to in order to highlight the freshness, purity, and intoxicating aromas of their small, rare production.

Domaine Vinci

It took Olivier Varichon and Emmanuelle Vinci years of dabbling in various careers before finally settling down and establishing their domaine in Estagel, in the heart of the Roussillon. Olivier had previously studied enology and owned a wine shop while Emmanuelle worked as a biologist, but ultimately their dream of making their own wine prevailed and they began searching throughout France for desirable vineyards to purchase. They fell in love with the wild, rugged landscape of the Agly Valley, and in 2001 Domaine Vinci was born. Olivier and Emmanuelle now organically farm six hectares of vineyards, with parcels so isolated that they need not worry about chemical products from neighbors’ vineyards contaminating the rocky soils their vines call home. These stunning sites, nestled at high altitudes amid scraggly garrigue and perilous outcrops, are planted with very old vines that give absurdly low yields, often below 15 hl/ha. Due to many of the parcels’ remote locations and steep grades, everything is worked by hand, including Domaine Vinci’s very own sélection massale nursery that allows them to replant vines one at a time when necessary. As a result, each vineyard represents a stable, balanced ecosystem in which the native Maccabeu and Carignan Blanc, along with Grenache Blanc, Carignan, Mourvèdre, and Grenache Noir, are able to thrive and express the rustic wonder of this unique terroir.

After harvesting by hand—only when the grapes have reached peak phenolic maturity—the fruit is brought to the small Vinci cellar, where natural yeasts carry out fermentation in neutral vessels before the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, with little to no added sulfur. All of Vinci’s bottlings, from the Maccabeu-based “Coyade” to the 100-year-old Carignan “Rafalot,” express profound concentration and minerality from the clay, limestone, granite, and schist of this corner of the Roussillon. While each of their three cuvées is capable of inspiring sincere awe, this is no surprise given Olivier and Emmanuelle’s painstaking determination and endless hard work. The wines are a testament to the potential of the rugged terroir as well as the Vinci philosophy, and it is truly an honor to represent wines of such purity and vitality.

Domaine Jean-Marc Vincent

Anne-Marie and Jean-Marc Vincent inherited most of their vines, principally located in and around the village of Santenay in the southern Côte de Beaune, from Jean-Marc’s grandfather, André Bardollet-Bravard. They produce three premier cru reds and two premier cru whites from Santenay, in addition to a red and a white Auxey-Duresses. The Vincent wines are characterized by rich, layered fruit, intense expression of individual terroir, and solid structure. 
Their Auxey-Duresses Blanc “Les Hautés,” which thankfully happens to be their highest production wine (that is, more than two barrels produced), is a gem and a role model for other producers of the appellation.  This is the wine that first attracted Kermit to the domaine. “I had rarely had an Auxey-Duresses that excited my taste buds,” he said, “I knew I was on to something.”  And indeed it reaches the heights of many a white Burgundy with a greater pedigree. It also evolves well in one’s cellar. The Vincents’ wine operation is a family affair and A-M and J-M split their time between the vineyards, cellars and their young children. Their miniscule production always sells out quickly to a small group of devoted clients. All of their wines are a testament to the importance of vigneron talent in a given appellation. While a great vigneron can make over-achievers from any appellation, a great appellation will never be great in the hands of mediocrity.

Clos Canarelli

Near the remote village of Tarabucetta, outside of Figari on the southern tip of Corsica, Yves Canarelli has made quite an impact not only in Corsica, but on mainland France as well. Now it is our turn. As a former student of economics who turned to enology, Yves strikes a fascinating balance between thoughtful intellectual and ardent traditionalist. Since taking over the family domaine in 1993, he has championed the restoration of native Corsican varietals. The appellation Corse Figari lies along a plateau just inland from the coast, where grapes have been farmed since the 5th century B.C. Though Figari is regarded as the most ancient growing region of Corsica, it has still taken pioneers like Yves having the courage to rip out entire vineyards of foreign varietals before Corsican wines have finally received the recognition they deserve. While the INAO remains slow to approve bottlings of some of the oldest of these heirloom varietals, often reducing them to the inferior “Vin de France” appellation, Yves Canarelli defends the history of Figari’s terroir with passion, confidence, and conviction.

Although sparse in quantity, the granite and red alluvial soil at Clos Canarelli is nonetheless rich in minerals. The ever-constant wind from the Gulf of Figari makes for challenging growing conditions: while it serves as a terrific natural antiseptic for the vines, it can also dry the soil out easily. Yves’s choice to convert the domaine to both organic and biodynamic viticulture has made it possible for his wines to display an unusual freshness, complexity, and aromatic intensity that others in Figari have been unable to achieve. In the cellar, Yves only uses indigenous yeasts, and prefers slow, deliberate, precise fermentations, and leaves his reds unfiltered. Ever the scholar, he also enjoys experimenting with egg-shaped cement tanks (modern-day amphorae) and whole cluster fermentations. After nearly ten years of watching and tasting Yves’s evolution, KLWM is proud to announce Clos Canarelli as the most recent addition to our portfolio of the cream of the crop Corsican domaines.

Punta Crena

The tiny village of Varigotti sits on the Mediterranean, just a few rows of houses and restaurants on a pristine beach, with its back against steep hills. Climb up into the hills and you will discover neatly terraced vineyards on the slopes and in hidden clearings further up on the peaks. The Ruffino family has been tending these vineyards for over 500 years, hardly changing a thing as they pass their knowledge and wisdom from one generation to the next. Today the estate is run by four siblings: Tommaso, the eldest, is the winemaker; Paolo is the salesman; Anna handles logistics; and Nicola helps out in the vineyards and winery. Their mother, Libera, was a strong businesswoman who revolutionized sales by dealing directly with clients rather than working with the merchants who controlled the market at the time; but today she stays in the background, happily cooking for the constant flow of guests and tending the home-grown vegetable stand in the courtyard as her numerous grandchildren scamper around her. These unpretentious people are firmly rooted in Varigotti, and the wines they craft are infused with local tradition and character.
Ask Paolo if the family follows organic methods in the vineyards and he’ll laugh. We’re not “organic,” he says as if you had asked about some crazy new technology. We just do everything the same way our ancestors have for hundreds of years. They even build their stone terraces by hand, using the method established here three thousand years ago. The vineyards of Punta Crena (which is named for a large promontory jutting into the sea at the edge of the village) are all within 1200 meters of the water and enjoy sea breezes that help keep the grapes healthy and happy. The Ruffinos are proud to work almost exclusively with local varietals, but they don’t have much company. Mataòssu, which once reigned supreme in this zone, was gradually ripped out because it has such a difficult vegetative balance; Crovino gives such low yields that no one else will grow it. As a result, several of Punta Crena’s wines are one of a kind: the Mataòssu and Cruvin are entirely unique (two other producers make wines labeled Mataòssu, but in fact their vines are the related Lumassina), and the Barbarossa is the only one produced in Italy (a local grape of Emilia-Romagna has the same name but is unrelated). They believe that their only job after the harvest is simply to avoid ruining their lovely fruit as it turns to wine. These are light, fun wines with no pretension. Every bottling from this estate marries beautifully with the local cuisine of fresh vegetables, fritto misto, and anchovies prepared every way imaginable, and we at KLWM are constantly finding more pairings where they taste just as good.

Domaine Roulot

Guy Roulot, a legendary producer of some of the finest Meursaults, if not some of the world’s finest white wines, took his family’s small production domaine to stardom. Guy’s marriage to Geneviève Coche and his own hard work added more prime parcels to the family’s holdings, which he vinified and bottled separately – a novelty for a domaine which had been distilling, rather than vinifying, their grapes just a generation before. As a result, Domaine Roulot has become the master of the lieu-dit, not to mention the five premier cru parcels they farm in Meursault and Monthelie. Guy’s sudden death in 1982 left the family in transition, as his son, Jean-Marc was in Paris pursuing a career in acting. A series of three winemakers aided in the changeover until 1989, when Jean-Marc was at last ready to take on the direction of the estate. 
Since then, Jean-Marc’s progress has brought even more notice to a domaine that had already enjoyed a great reputation. The wines of Domaine Roulot are now among the most sought after wines in all of Burgundy.  Jean-Marc has been successful in fine-tuning the domaine’s particular, stand-out style.  While Domaine Roulot had once pioneered the single-vineyard bottlings of Meursault, they were now influencing other domaines to follow suit, thereby raising the stakes in this exalted appellation. What sets the domaine even further apart is Jean-Marc’s commitment to a bright, chiseled, thoroughbred style of Meursault, while many other wines of this village tend towards richness and concentration. Jean-Marc’s wines certainly express a certain depth and sumptuousness thanks to the appellation’s terroir, however his wines also show focus and restraint. Their elegance and amazing precision lend themselves to long aging in the cellars. Jean-Marc loves cooking and believes the strong mineral backbone of his wines and their fresh acidity marry well with food. This is why one is more likely to find their wines in restaurants rather than in wine shops.

Éric Chevalier

Éric Chevalier is a rising star in the Pays 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 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. As of 2020, the domaine is certified organic—a rare feat in a region known better for intensive farming and the pursuit of high yields over quality. He is also proud to be bottling all of the family’s production himself. Éric farms thirty hectares of vines, producing wines of great character and finesse that offer tremendous value. 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 Roger Neveu

The Neveu family’s roots in the Loire Valley are nothing short of impressive, even for European standards. The local archives show that a Jean Neveu lived in the village of Verdigny (where the family still resides) as early as the 12th century, and family documents prove that they already owned and ran an agricultural estate in 1641. It is known that grapevines made up part of the property in the 19th century, but they were sadly destroyed in the phylloxera epidemic so it wasn’t until the after World War II that winegrowing regained an important place at the domaine, with nearly all of their wine sold in bulk through the 1960s. It was Roger Neveu, father to current owners Éric and Jean-Philippe, who during the 1970s brought the domaine into its contemporary incarnation by making and bottling his own wine, and selling it directly to customers, friends, restaurants, and importers. Éric officially joined the family métier in 1977 after studying winemaking in Beaune, and Jean-Philippe followed suit ten years later after getting his degree in accounting.

The love of a job well done is the goal and guiding principle of the brothers. The quality of the wine is the top priority, and giving complete satisfaction to their customers and friends is a close second. The family tradition in wine has already added another generation as both Éric and Jean-Philippe’s sons have started helping out in the vineyards and cellar.

The Clos des Bouffants, the primary Neveu family Sancerre holding, is a steep, due-south exposed, limestone vineyard located less than a half mile from the Neveu cellar. This storied vineyard was cited in the 1777 history of Sancerre, where the Abbott Poupart, priest of Sancerre, wrote, “the Bouffants hillside is one of the best I know in our Sancerre area.”

Domaine Jean-Claude Marsanne

The Marsanne family, as their name attests, has a long and deep-rooted history in the northern Rhône, in particular around Mauves, the birthplace of the Saint-Joseph appellation. In 1920, current owner Jean-Claude’s grandfather, Jean-Pierre, became the first in the family to focus solely on vineyards—no easy task given the impossibly steep slopes of Mauves, where everything must be worked by hand and pickaxe. Jean-Pierre started with just a few small parcels, selling off his crop to prestigious négociants, and was quickly renowned throughout the region for the exceptional quality of his grapes. His untimely passing in 1950 forced his son, Jean, to quit school at age 16 to take over the domaine. He continued his father’s work in earnest, his vineyards often being recognized amongst the village’s best, not just for their exposition and soil, but also for the attention to detail young Jean paid to each vine. The grape sales financed some small land purchases in and around Mauves, and the domaine slowly grew to 3 hectares. In 1970, Jean made the leap to begin making and bottling the wines himself. Over time, a small, but loyal following developed, especially among France’s fine dining establishments, which valued the finesse and elegance of Marsanne’s cuvées. The domaine remained largely unknown on the international scene, overlooked by many journalists and clients who sought out bolder, more extracted styles.

Since taking over from Jean in 1991, Jean-Claude has continued to add select new parcels, growing the domaine to 9.6 hectares. While still mostly focused on Syrah from the hallowed terroir of Mauves, he now farms a few small plots of Marsanne for his Saint-Joseph blanc, as well as some Viognier and Syrah in the Ardèche hills west of the village. He also inherited a superb plot of Crozes-Hermitage that once belonged to his grandmother.

Kermit came across Jean Marsanne during his early adventures in France in the 1970s, and was struck by the wines’ aromatic complexity and Jean’s meticulous care for the vineyards. He even managed to import a few bottles in those early days. Kermit and the Marsannes lost touch and life went on, until decades later when Kermit spotted a familiar label while dining out in Paris. The bottle was ordered, uncorked, and an old collaboration was renewed.

Jean-Claude holds tightly to the traditions of his family. These include farming the steepest parcels by hand, as was done by his grandfather; using indigenous yeasts for slow, natural fermentations, like his father taught him; and aging his wines extensively on fine lees, releasing each cuvée at its most expressive moment. The reunion with Marsanne is one of great pride on both sides.

Alex Foillard

To say that Gamay runs in the blood would not be such a terrible exaggeration for Alex Foillard. The son of “Gang of Four” Morgon producer Jean Foillard, Alex had early exposure to the world of wine, and more specifically, to the principles of sustainable farming and low-intervention winemaking that brought his father to stardom in natural wine circles, along with like-minded neighbors such as Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton, and Jean-Paul Thévenet.

Alex’s involvement in the family business began at a young age, as he took an early interest in the vineyards and enjoyed helping his father pick grapes during harvest. Intent on carrying on the family tradition of producing handcrafted cru Beaujolais, Alex studied agriculture at the Lycée Agricole in Montpellier, then earned a degree in viticulture and enology in Beaune, while simultaneously interning at a well-respected domaine in Nuits-Saint-Georges. Upon finishing his studies, he sought to earn further experience in vinification via additional internships in Australia plus another with a producer in Japan. Upon returning home to the Beaujolais, in 2015, Alex truly began dedicating himself to the family domaine.

The following year, and only twenty-four years old, he purchased his very own vineyards. With roughly a hectare each in the crus of Brouilly and Côte-de-Brouilly, Alex successfully diversified the Foillard cellars, until then full of Morgon along with the odd barrel of Fleurie. Though the vineyards were not certified organic, he immediately began working them according to organic principles. The 2016 vintage marked his first harvest.

Jean’s influence is evident in Alex’s solo cuvées: the wines have a seductive aromatic component, a silky texture, and a downright deliciousness that is unmistakably Foillard. After all, Alex used tried-and-true techniques to craft his wines: whole-cluster fermentation with natural yeasts, no fining or filtration, and no additives of any kind save for a minute sulfur dose at bottling. The new generation at Domaine Foillard has burst onto the scene with a bang, and the future is full of exciting possibilities for this talented Beaujolais youngster.