SteveTimko
Steve Timko
I got to do two tastings at a newish wine bar in downtown Reno last week, the West Street Wine Bar. I went there on a Wednesday for the Bastille Day tasting and while there I ran into Devlon Moore, owner of Cepage Selections. Devlon is the distributor in Reno for Kermit Lynch, Louis/Dressner and similar wines. He was bringing representatives of Gros Nore and Lascaux, both Kermit Lynch labels, to the West Street Wine Bar that Friday for a tasting and invited me. The wine bar others were gracious enough to allow me to attend.
From left to right are Cepage employee Ty Martin, Frederic Pibarot of Lascaux, Pascale Parodi of Gros Nore and Devlon Moore, owner of Cepage selections.
The whites from both surprised me and would be the wines Id most like to add to my cellar. I had not heard of Lascaux before but theyve been with Kermit Lynch for about 20 years.
2007 Domaine du Gros' Nor Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol (7/17/2009)
Had the 2005 two days earlier and like that this is just too tight to tell much. This one actually seems maybe a little more rustic than the 2005, but that could be age-related. I got more meatiness than fruits in this one compared to the 2005. Tannins still rough. Good finish. I'd say lay it down for a decade. A Kermit Lynch import.
2008 Domaine du Gros' Nor Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol (7/17/2009)
Yummm! First sip of this and I was thinking of the Mediterranean Sea and hankering for a nice Bouillabaisse. The nose is a nice salt sea air and some stony fruit. The palate was a little bit of nuttiness, citrus and a little bit of spice. Good finish.Balanced and elegant. Devlon noted the similarity to Cassis. The proximity to the sea is obvious. There's only 1,500 bottles of this made each year. Too bad. A Kermit Lynch import.
2008 Domaine du Gros' Nor Bandol Ros - France, Provence, Bandol (7/17/2009)
Nice rose. Spicy, strawberry nose. Nice combination of zippy, tangy strawberry and softer melon on the palate. Some minerality. Good finish. A Kermit Lynch import.
2007 Chteau de Lascaux Coteaux du Languedoc - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc (7/17/2009)
This would be a good wine for a restaurant menu. Smooth tannins. Nice dark red fruits and earthiness on the palate. Decent finish. Decent acidity but a rounder wine. I think it would complement a lot of foods and is moderately priced. A Kermit Lynch import
2008 Chteau de Lascaux Coteaux du Languedoc Blanc - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc (7/17/2009)
Loved this wine. No diesel, but the nose otherwise reminded me more of riesling than the typical white Rhone. The nose had apple and other white fruits. A little bit of minerality. On the palate, lots of white fruit and some spices. Good finish. The winemaker said it's all stainless steel, but there's some softness to the texture that I would have guessed neutral oak. Probably closer to Dolly Parton than Julia Roberts. I would seek this out. A Kermit Lynch import.
2008 Chteau de Lascaux Coteaux du Languedoc Ros - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc (7/17/2009)
A pleasant, simpler rose. Bright cherry and watermelon flavors. Short finish.
2005 Domaine du Gros' Nor Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol (7/15/2009)
Bonus pour at Bastille Day Tasting at West Street Wine Bar. Decanted but still petty tight. Spice on the nose. Darker fruits and some spices on the palate, but not much. Nice earthiness. Balanced and good acidity. I'd say give it another six years at least. Imported by Kermit Lynch.
2007 Kermit Lynch Ctes du Rhne - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Ctes du Rhne (7/15/2009)
Can't believe all the middling reviews on this wine on CellarTracker! I loved this stuff, but then again about half my wine cellar are Rhone varietals. Soft tannins and drinking well now.Decent acidity. Darker red fruits on the palate and some nice earthiness.Good Old World meatiness. Good finish. Not super complex, no, but some great flavors. A Kermit Lynch import.
2007 Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil La Dilettante - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Bourgueil (7/15/2009)
Disclaimer: I don't get wines made with cabernet franc or cabernet sauvignon. On the nose I got mild diaper poo funk. On the palate I got nothing, which was a surprise since Loire cab franc almost always tastes green to me, even in ripe vintages. I had this at the Bastille Day tasting at the West Street Wine Bar. A Louis/Dressner import.
2005 Domaine de la Ppire (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Svre-et-Maine Granite de Clisson - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Svre-et-Maine (7/15/2009)
Wow, steely, minerally. I don't think these grapes could pass through an airport metal detector. The minerality comes through on the nose and the palate. Kind of a sharp attack of acid and then a focused lemon zest tartness and a lingering finish. White fruits on the finish. Good stuff, I think it's probably still improving. A Louis/Dressner import.
2008 Domaine de l'Aujardire (Eric Chevalier) Chardonnay Vin de Pays du Jardin - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Vin de Pays du Jardin (7/15/2009)
This is a chardonnay that's the polar opposite of the typal California chardonnay. Alcohol is 11.5 percent. Obviously no oak or malolactic fermentation. In some ways it out-Old Worlds Burgundy. For something I suspect is only meant to be a simple summer quaffer, I put a lot of thought into this wine because I can't decide if I like it. I decided I don't like it, but I respect it, or at least what winemaker Eric Chevalier is trying to do. The obvious comparison would be to Chablis, but it doesn't have the depth, length or focus of even inexpensive (but successful) Chablis. There's some nice green apple and other white fruit flavors. On the Julia Roberts-Dolly Parton scale it's definitely Julia Roberts, but it's so light that the verve it does have doesn't verve much. It's also slightly off dry, which was pronounced when I followed it at the Bastille Day tasting with the 2005 Ppire Granite de Clisson. Short finish. Rather than Chablis, it's more like Muscadet, but a poor imitation. Like Muscadet in drag. It's still an interesting wine. I don't think it's going to evolve much in the bottle, but it'd be nice to see if this is an issue with younger vines and if the wine develops as the vines get older. A Kermit Lynch import.
From left to right are Cepage employee Ty Martin, Frederic Pibarot of Lascaux, Pascale Parodi of Gros Nore and Devlon Moore, owner of Cepage selections.
The whites from both surprised me and would be the wines Id most like to add to my cellar. I had not heard of Lascaux before but theyve been with Kermit Lynch for about 20 years.
2007 Domaine du Gros' Nor Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol (7/17/2009)
Had the 2005 two days earlier and like that this is just too tight to tell much. This one actually seems maybe a little more rustic than the 2005, but that could be age-related. I got more meatiness than fruits in this one compared to the 2005. Tannins still rough. Good finish. I'd say lay it down for a decade. A Kermit Lynch import.
2008 Domaine du Gros' Nor Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol (7/17/2009)
Yummm! First sip of this and I was thinking of the Mediterranean Sea and hankering for a nice Bouillabaisse. The nose is a nice salt sea air and some stony fruit. The palate was a little bit of nuttiness, citrus and a little bit of spice. Good finish.Balanced and elegant. Devlon noted the similarity to Cassis. The proximity to the sea is obvious. There's only 1,500 bottles of this made each year. Too bad. A Kermit Lynch import.
2008 Domaine du Gros' Nor Bandol Ros - France, Provence, Bandol (7/17/2009)
Nice rose. Spicy, strawberry nose. Nice combination of zippy, tangy strawberry and softer melon on the palate. Some minerality. Good finish. A Kermit Lynch import.
2007 Chteau de Lascaux Coteaux du Languedoc - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc (7/17/2009)
This would be a good wine for a restaurant menu. Smooth tannins. Nice dark red fruits and earthiness on the palate. Decent finish. Decent acidity but a rounder wine. I think it would complement a lot of foods and is moderately priced. A Kermit Lynch import
2008 Chteau de Lascaux Coteaux du Languedoc Blanc - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc (7/17/2009)
Loved this wine. No diesel, but the nose otherwise reminded me more of riesling than the typical white Rhone. The nose had apple and other white fruits. A little bit of minerality. On the palate, lots of white fruit and some spices. Good finish. The winemaker said it's all stainless steel, but there's some softness to the texture that I would have guessed neutral oak. Probably closer to Dolly Parton than Julia Roberts. I would seek this out. A Kermit Lynch import.
2008 Chteau de Lascaux Coteaux du Languedoc Ros - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc (7/17/2009)
A pleasant, simpler rose. Bright cherry and watermelon flavors. Short finish.
2005 Domaine du Gros' Nor Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol (7/15/2009)
Bonus pour at Bastille Day Tasting at West Street Wine Bar. Decanted but still petty tight. Spice on the nose. Darker fruits and some spices on the palate, but not much. Nice earthiness. Balanced and good acidity. I'd say give it another six years at least. Imported by Kermit Lynch.
2007 Kermit Lynch Ctes du Rhne - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Ctes du Rhne (7/15/2009)
Can't believe all the middling reviews on this wine on CellarTracker! I loved this stuff, but then again about half my wine cellar are Rhone varietals. Soft tannins and drinking well now.Decent acidity. Darker red fruits on the palate and some nice earthiness.Good Old World meatiness. Good finish. Not super complex, no, but some great flavors. A Kermit Lynch import.
2007 Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil La Dilettante - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Bourgueil (7/15/2009)
Disclaimer: I don't get wines made with cabernet franc or cabernet sauvignon. On the nose I got mild diaper poo funk. On the palate I got nothing, which was a surprise since Loire cab franc almost always tastes green to me, even in ripe vintages. I had this at the Bastille Day tasting at the West Street Wine Bar. A Louis/Dressner import.
2005 Domaine de la Ppire (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Svre-et-Maine Granite de Clisson - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Svre-et-Maine (7/15/2009)
Wow, steely, minerally. I don't think these grapes could pass through an airport metal detector. The minerality comes through on the nose and the palate. Kind of a sharp attack of acid and then a focused lemon zest tartness and a lingering finish. White fruits on the finish. Good stuff, I think it's probably still improving. A Louis/Dressner import.
2008 Domaine de l'Aujardire (Eric Chevalier) Chardonnay Vin de Pays du Jardin - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Vin de Pays du Jardin (7/15/2009)
This is a chardonnay that's the polar opposite of the typal California chardonnay. Alcohol is 11.5 percent. Obviously no oak or malolactic fermentation. In some ways it out-Old Worlds Burgundy. For something I suspect is only meant to be a simple summer quaffer, I put a lot of thought into this wine because I can't decide if I like it. I decided I don't like it, but I respect it, or at least what winemaker Eric Chevalier is trying to do. The obvious comparison would be to Chablis, but it doesn't have the depth, length or focus of even inexpensive (but successful) Chablis. There's some nice green apple and other white fruit flavors. On the Julia Roberts-Dolly Parton scale it's definitely Julia Roberts, but it's so light that the verve it does have doesn't verve much. It's also slightly off dry, which was pronounced when I followed it at the Bastille Day tasting with the 2005 Ppire Granite de Clisson. Short finish. Rather than Chablis, it's more like Muscadet, but a poor imitation. Like Muscadet in drag. It's still an interesting wine. I don't think it's going to evolve much in the bottle, but it'd be nice to see if this is an issue with younger vines and if the wine develops as the vines get older. A Kermit Lynch import.
