It’s Kermit Lynch, Of Course

Posted by Tom Wark on Apr 7, 2006

With regard to the question of who wrote the beautiful and useful review in the previous post, of course it was Kermit Lynch, from his April 2006 newsletter.

The newsletters sent by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants are never bulky, but they are always extraordinarily readable for the simple reason that its clear each wine offered and written about in the letter is one he feels very strongly about, in one way or another. But as mentioned in the previous post, it’s the context and enjoyment that is translated in his kind of wine descriptions that lead to wish more writers would find a voice every bit as authentic and thoughtful.

The wine, by the way, in the previous post is the 2003 Savigny-Les Beaune Premier Cru "Les Serpentieres" from Domaine Guillemot.

There are other descriptions of wines in this letter that deliver content, passion, and descriptiveness, as all great wine description/review should:

2004 Riesling "Heissenberg" Andre Ostertag
What an exciting, even glamorous bouquet, so revealing and giving of itself. It is right there for you , ready to be taken
This seems so un-German a Riesling. When you see the climate statistics of Alsace, you find a surprisingly warm microclimate. It is true, Rhone and Mosel are Northern, Alsace is southern. And you can add to that phenomenon the precise terroir, "heissenberg", which means Hot mountain. (Keep the jokes clean, movie fans)
The ripe fruit is such an aromatic treat. I is one of those name-that-fruit-kind of wines, but I’ll leave that exercise to you.

Domaine A.& M. Quenard 2004 Les Abymes
Do I have a bunch of jaded palates shopping here? How else do you explain the success last year of Quenard’s 2003 Abymes? How many citizens even know what an Abymes is? When I tasted it at Quenard’s, I love it and considered the price quite good considering the quality. But I had to ask myself, will they (meaning you) buy something labeled Abymes? And you snapped up every bottled except the ones my staff and I drank. Thank you. The 2004 is floral, minerally, lively and fresh-tasting with a dry, crisp Alpine finish. In France it showed a slight Petillance, so I asked him to bottle ours like  that , as is. It doesn’t really sparkle; it simply feels alive on the palate.

You can read the entire current Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant Newsletter HERE, or you can download previous newsletters HERE, or you can sign up to receive the newsletters via mail HERE.

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