Another incredible drop from legendary importer, Kermit Lynch!
Taste exquisite wines from Corsica, "The Island of Beauty" and the best of France, including Savoie, Loire Valley, & Beaujolais!
Kermit Lynch Wine Tasting
Thursday, June 9th 4-6pm
*Our original wine bar location- 103 Northside Square*
$35 Per Person (Includes Personal Charcuterie Pairing)
Or
$20 Per Person (Wine Tasting Only)
Reservations Requested. Call 256-964-7980
Presented by special guest, Allaina of International Imports
NV Quenard Cremant De Savoie, Savoie, France $29.99
With the taste of a fresh mountain spring gurgling through an alpine meadow, this sparkling Jacquère is the ultimate introduction to the stony, mountain-born Quenard style.
The Savoie is a picture of fairy-tale perfection: snow-capped peaks, rolling hills, and sparkling mountain streams. This idyllic region is where Michel Quenard farms twenty-two hectares of vineyards along the steep slopes around Chignin.
2020 Regis Minet Pouilly Fume, Loire Valley, France $30.99
Sauvignon Blanc has many incarnations throughout the world, but even in the Loire Valley—the grape’s spiritual home—Pouilly Fumé represents a very distinctive example. While it shares the Kimmeridgian limestone of its neighbor Sancerre, its soils also contain fragments of flint, which are presumably responsible for Pouilly Fumé’s characteristic goût de pierre à fusil, or gunflint taste. A generous host, Régis is known to greet his guests with cornucopian platters of locally produced meats and Loire goat cheeses. Not surprisingly, his lively, crisp, floral, and beautifully mineral Pouilly Fumé is the quintessential foil to savory slices of saucisson and a sticky Crottin de Chavignol.
2021 Charles Joguet Chinon Rose, Loire Valley, France $25.99
I always get a little chuckle out of the fact that we tend to recommend this wine for picnics. This is serious rosé! You’ve got that trademark explosive fruit and Cabernet Franc spice and big, round body followed by the most thirst-quenching finish. Then again, I have to remind myself that the people who take this wine on picnics also take their picnics very seriously. Simple but sumptuous ingredients are surely de rigueur, making this rosé the perfect pairing.
2018 Charles Joguet Chinon Cuvee Terrior, Loire Valley, France $25.99
Cabernet Franc
Cuvée Terroir is born of a parcel of vines just west of Chinon known for its mysteriously Mediterranean vegetation. Fragrant pines replace the emblematic plane trees that typically line the river Vienne, and tiny wildflowers called silènes pop up in the sandy soil amid the vines, a colorful symbol of the area’s extraordinary biodiversity. Domaine Joguet lets the terroir speak for itself, aging the wine in stainless steel to respect its supple, delicate freshness. They call it their “vin des copains”: the wine you want to open with friends, and frequently.
2020 Quenard "Les Roches Blanches" Chignin-Bergeron, Savoie, France $37.99
When you think of Roussanne, the Rhône Valley’s white-wine blends might come to mind first, but this blanc from Savoie—where the grape is called Bergeron—could change that.Throughout much of the nineteenth century, Bergeron enjoyed an exalted status in the Savoie.Then, around the turn of the century, phylloxera decimated the region’s vines, leaving Bergeron to languish in relative obscurity until the 1970s, when André Quenard played a significant role in its resurrection.
Even though the grapes achieve full ripeness, Les Roches Blanches is racier than many of its regal, fuller-bodied Rhône cousins largely because Chignin offers a cooler, alpine climate. This medium-bodied white evokes peaches, honey, and pine resin. Perfect for winter nights and dishes like Chris Lee’s hearty, Savoie-inspired fish chowder, it is mouthwatering and refreshing on its own, too.
2019 Michel Chignard Julienas, Beaujolais, France $25.99
Cedric Chignard's chewy Juliénas is the darkest wine in this group, with the firm spine that comes from old vines in hard, rocky terrain. When you're in the shop, look for the black gothic label. It matches the wine.
Critical Acclaim
JS93James Suckling
If it wasn’t for the lively acidity and the violet note, you might mistake this for a sophisticated Volnay! Beautiful balance of ripeness and freshness, delicate earthiness and well-crafted tannins that carry the long, elegant finish. Just beginning its long life. Drink or hold.
V92Vinous
Limpid ruby. Intensely perfumed cherry, black raspberry and violet aromas are sharpened by suggestions of smoky minerals and cracked pepper. In a weighty yet energetic style, offering sharply defined blueberry and bitter cherry flavors that firm up slowly on the back half. Fine-grained tannins lend grip to the finish, which hangs on with impressive, floral-accented persistence. Best after 2022
RP90Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Juliénas Beauvernay mingles aromas of raspberries and cherries with hints of petals and spices. Medium-bodied, lively and perfumed, with bright acids and classical balance, purists will gravitate towards this vintage, whereas readers who appreciate more flesh and muscle will prefer the 2020.
2020 Yves Leccia Il De Beaute Rouge, Corsica $32.99
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.
In this bottling from Yves Leccia, the French import Grenache—called Elegante in Corsica—takes center stage, offering fragrant notes of lavender spiced with balmy Mediterranean brush. A splash of the indigenous Niellucciu completes the blend, adding some muscle to this savory, floral red whose sunny island flavors come into focus when slightly chilled.
