On The Big Stage
by Kermit Lynch
Cassis. Remember Cassis? Especially you customers going way back? Lovely Provençal fishing village for centuries if not eons and now a dazzling tourist destination. A visit to Cassis in August? Not recommended unless you love company. The sunbathers are almost piled one on top of the other, and if you like to run and dive into the blue, blue Med, you’re likely to emerge and find your head poking out from between some other bather’s legs.
Of course, the population of Cassis throughout its existence needed wine to make their catch of the day even more of a treat. Enter the star of our show, the most beautiful wine domaine on the French Mediterranean coast, Clos Sainte Magdeleine. And folks, I’m driven to say it, can’t hold back: Er, those who have tasted Cassis wine but have not tasted Clos Sainte Magdeleine’s haven’t tasted anything. There!!
Forgive my cheap shot, and here’s my point. For all these years, almost fifty, I’ve imported Cassis as a good dry white with seafood. However, nowadays, ZOWIE! The wines have changed and improved so much, I’d rate Clos Sainte Magdeleine among the very top five Provençal domaines for whites and rosés.
What makes their wines so good? Their fabulous aromas and flavors, of course. Their harmony and finesse. The winemaker has the magic touch, and his wines are delicious and exceedingly food-friendly. I prove that often at home. In other words, I speak from experience. So next time you are shopping from us, include bottles from winemaker Jonathan Sack. His classic Cassis blanc, for example. Or the stunning Bel-Arme, a cuvée mostly from the Marsanne grape grown on the chalky hillsides overlooking the sea. And new, a bottling of 100% Vermentino, because the Cassis terroir is perfect for Vermentino.
Have fun.
2023 Cassis Blanc
France | Provence
2022 Cassis Blanc “Bel-Arme”
France | Provence
2022 Bouches-du-Rhône Blanc “Baume Noire”
France | Provence