1605 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702

KERMIT LYNCH WINE MERCHANT

Technical Information

Wine Blend Vine Age Soil Type Vineyard Area*
Savennières
Chenin Blanc Planted in 1965-2013 (average 35 years old) Schist 8.5 ha
Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Chenin Blanc Planted in 1988, 1989, 2000, 2017 (average 20 years old) Phtanite 1.5 ha
Savennières Moelleux
Chenin Blanc 30-55 years Schist 1 ha
Anjou Rouge
Clos de la Cerisaie
Cabernet Franc Planted in 1973, 1976, 2016

*As of 2020 vintage the red will be only from young vines as they have torn out the old parcels.

Schist 1.5 ha
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

• The Bizards’ vineyard land sits at the highest point in the Savennières appellation     

• Vines are pruned in gobelet

• Cover crop is planted in between every other vineyard row

• Hand harvested

• Grapes are pressed gently by pneumatic press

• Juice rests for 24 hours before being racked into stainless steel cuves for fermentation to begin

•No malolactic fermentation fermentation for white wines

Savennières:

• A blend of parcels from the lieux-dits Le Parc and La Croix Picot
• Fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks

Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”:

• Bottled specially for Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant

• Sourced exclusively from the domaine's best vineyard, Le Hu-Boyau, a high-lying, well-exposed parcel overlooking the Loire, on stony soils of phtanite (a hard, blueish, siliceous sedimentary rock similar to chert that is extremely rare in the Savennières appellation)

• Fermented in stainless steel tanks

• Aged for up to 9 months sur lie in a combination of old 440-liter chestnut, acacia, and oak demi-muids


Savennières Moelleux:

• Fermentation lasts one month in acacia barrels

• Aged in acacia barrels until April bottling

• 35 grams/Liter residual sugar

• Parcel is located near the Loire river and benefits from the mists from the river, which add in the development of botrytis


Anjou Rouge Clos de la Cerisaie:
• An actual clos, but part of the walls have collapsed
• Fermentation with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel
• Primary fermentation lasts 15 days, with daily pumpovers
• Wine ages in 30 hectoliter stainless steel tanks
• Wine ages until spring and is bottled in April
• Neither filtered nor fined

MISCELLANEA

The Château d’Épiré filters all of its wines except those sold to Kermit Lynch. Why? Sadly, the majority of European consumers and sommeliers are willing to forsake body and taste for perfect stability and sediment-free wines…. Based on my tastings of each over three different vintages, there is a two-point difference between the normal cuvées and the Cuvée Spéciale and another two-point difference between it and Lynch’s unfiltered cuvée.

-Pierre Rovani, The Wine Advocate


It is difficult to imagine another wine from France likely to provide the sheer intellectual marvel we seem to enjoy with every bottle of d’Épiré’s Savennières.

-Bruce Neyers, KLWM


The Cuvée Spéciale is what it usually is, their best parcel, old vines next to the Coulée de Serrant, fermented and raised in demi-muids, and bottled unfiltered. All for us! It is intense with a strong goût de terroir to go with the fruit. It is powerful, coiled like a spring, needs some time, and can age well into the next century.

-Kermit Lynch

Épiré

General Information

Country
France
Region
Loire
Appellation(s)
Anjou, Savennières
Producer
Paul Bizard
Founded
1882
Annual Production
4,000 cases
Farming
Haute Valeur Environnementale (certified)
Website
http://www.chateau-epire.com
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