Tag Archives: France

Oct26

A Heavenly Vintage

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A Heavenly Vintage

A Heavenly Vintage is the story of a young winemaker who rises to prominence through the unlikely guidance of a mysterious angel. His talents make him the object of desire of a beautiful baroness who tempts him to stray from his loving wife and children.

This is a movie for wine geeks. The director Nki Caro (Whale Rider) dwells on the minutiae of the vineyard, and draws on the history of winemaking and vineyard operations in 19th century.

Though overly romanticized at times, and with a disjointed storyline (this could have been a fine movie without the angel), there are some great moments and remarkable attention to detail in that in the wardrobe and production design.

Vera Farmiga is solid as the Baroness, but Jeremie Renier as the all-too-often angry lead can be hard to root for, but for all its wine geekiness, scenes in the French winegrowing countryside, and with a little wine in your glass, you’re in for a good evening watching a man attempt to create the perfect vintage. That in itself is worth it for a wine lover.

A paired my viewing with a rustic and leathery Summerhill Pyramid Winery Baco Noir from the 2009 vintage.

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Mar13

Tasting: Domaine Tempier

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Tasting: Domaine Tempier

Our first acquaintance with Domaine Tempier, the Peyraud family, and Bandol was in the pages of Kermit Lynch’s wine travel book Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer’s Tour of France. The Peyraud family were painted as almost legendary pioneers of Provence wine-growing in spearheading the establishment of Bandol as its own A.O.C and the large-scale replanting of Mourvèdre – which would result in wines with greater aging potential – in place of higher-yielding varietals.

So thanks to the impressive selection of wines at Marquis Wine Cellars, the opportunity to taste wines by the legendary Domaine Tempier, which Kermit Lynch – one of America’s foremost wine merchants – refers to as “our cornerstone, stands more in the defense of terroir, and is more intricately interwoven with our own history” in relation to his wine merchant business, was something of an event here at Wineshout.

Domaine Tempier, located near Le Plan du Castellet, just outside the Mediterranean seaport village of Bandol in Provence, has been run by the Peyraud family since 1834 but did not become a domaine until the 1940s. Organically farmed, the domaine is comprised of three vineyards: La Migoua, La Tourtine, and Cabassaou. These vineyards’ soils are variations of clay and limestone, providing an annual production of 11,000 cases.

Domaine Tempier 2010 Rose (50% Mourvèdre, 28% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, 2% Carignan) – From vines that are on average 20 years old, these grapes are harvested by hand, and aged in cuve for 6 to 8 months. It presented cassis, violet, strawberries, black currant leaf, with light touches of sweet lemon and ice tea. This is a very dry, medium-bodied rosé. Robert Parker has said at one time that the Domaine Tempier rose is the greatest rosé in the world, which has surely helped it achieve cult status. The 2010 wasn’t, in our opinion, able to live up to these lofty standards, but is undeniably one of the best roses we have tasted, like Provence in a glass.

After the tasting, we served the rosé with a dish of scallops with roasted tomatoes and crispy prosciutto (a Jamie Oliver recipe from one of his earlier – and in our opinion best – books, The Naked Chef). Here is a great, similar recipe for you to try for scallops.

 

Domaine Tempier 2007 Rouge Cuvee Classique (75% Mourvèdre, 14% Grenache, 9% Cinsault, 2% Carignan) – From vines that are over 40 years old, the grapes are harvested by hand, and aged in oak foudres for 18 to 20 months. This wine was very tight when opened, and decanted for 4 hours before tasting. We were greeted with black fruits such as dark cherry, blackberry, and blueberry, with hints of smoked fat. This is an intense wine with balanced tannins and high acidity. Another couple hours in and in a follow-up tasting the following day, notes of toffee, licorice and tar had developed.

Others have referred to a certain savage nature to this wine that we did not find in this vintage, but rather a character of luscious elegance seemed to dominate.

After the tasting, we served with Rack of lamb and garlic potatoes. We kept things rather rustic with this dish, and the pairing was spot on.

For review of earlier vintages of Domaine Tempier’s wines, hop on over to this tasting profile at Winedoctor.com

Mar7

Kermit Lynch, Wine Merchant

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Kermit Lynch, Wine Merchant

Reading Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer’s Tour of France made me an instant Kermit Lynch fan. So, when some time later Jancis Robinson passed on one of my questions to Kermit in her interview with him, it was a thrill. He is like the sensible uncle in a world gone crazy.

A lot has been written about Kermit Lynch, the wine merchant from Berkeley, California, and I’ve devoured my share, so rather than regurgitate, I’ll link up some solid sources to get yourself more acquainted with this man who has bucked the trend and stuck to his guns by dealing in wine that has often been said to be unfashionable.

Here is a fantastic interview from 2006 in which Kermit talks about his view of the industry, about such things as how the winemaker has become a sort of superstar. What’s enjoyable is that Kermit is frank in his opinions and whether you agree or not, it is an interesting interview.

the bourgogne sessions: kermit lynch from dean berdusis on Vimeo.

Gary Vaynerchuk talked a while back with Kermit Lynch about how he got into wine, the origins of his business, and his thoughts on the wine industry. Here’s 20 minutes you’ll enjoy!

1WineDude also put up a piece just this week on his interview with this living legend. Do drop by and check it out. Here’s the video from the meeting in Kermit’s Berkeley store.

…and if you have a Kermit Lynch article, interview, etc. send me a comment below with the link, so we can share it with all the other readers.

You can buy Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer’s Tour of France at Amazon. There is also a French version, Mes aventures sur les routes du vin (French Edition), available.

Jan1

The Red Baron of Wine

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The Red Baron of Wine
The Red Baron of Wine

Here at Wineshout we love our innovators, and Baron Eric de Rothschild is one of the original innovators in the wine world. So having just received the lifetime achievement award from Wine Enthusiast, earlier in 2010 received the Southern Wine & Spirits of America Lifetime Achievement Award, and most notably he’s even gotten a New York building co-op board’s seal of approval – no small feat – after 20 other millionaires were passed over, the Baron’s a fitting topic to begin sharing with you wine links in this, the new year.

This Baron of red wine prestige, born in the USA and once the most sought-after bachelor in all of Paris, took over the management of legendary Lafite in 1974 and was very active in making it an exceptional estate. The changeover was hailed by multiple fabulous vintages, including 1975, 1976, and 1982, and the stage was set for several excellent wines through the ’90s and the first vintages of the 21st century.

For a closer look into how the Baron ticks, hop on over to this article in Elle, or hear it from the man
 himself in his “expensively accented English” in this rare interview.

And for a great write-up on the chateau he guided to new heights, check out this write-up by Chris Kissack aka the Wine Doctor.

We hope you enjoy the links and info we shared with you today. And if it’s helped you, help us by telling your friends. Thanks, and have a happy new year, everyone!