2015 Puligny-Montrachet “Les Chalumaux”Comtesse de Chérisey
France | Burgundy
$120
Producers
Here we have a vin rouge from the talented Dominique Hauvette, and one that puts Cinsault on center stage. Not many of those exist! (None come to mind other than Sylvain Fadat’s Les Servières bottling.) Amethyste is raised in concrete eggs and is the Burgundian foil to Dominique’s hearty, Rhône/Bandol/Bordeaux-esque blend she calls Cornaline. Amethyste is all about finesse, in the perfume, in the balance, in the tannin. Never fear, there is grit to go with that silk—good grain, as I like to say. Don’t miss this singular, beguiling wine from a Provençal master.
—Dixon Brooke
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2017 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 60% Cinsault, 30% Carignan, 10% Grenache |
Appellation: | Baux de Provence |
Country: | France |
Region: | Provence |
Producer: | Domaine Hauvette |
Winemaker: | Dominique Hauvette |
Vineyard: | 40 years average, 2 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Aging: | Wine is raised in cement eggs |
Farming: | Biodynamic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 13.5% |
Domaine Hauvette France | Provence | IGP Alpilles
Domaine Hauvette France | Provence | Baux de Provence
Domaine Hauvette France | Provence | IGP Alpilles
Domaine Hauvette France | Provence | Baux de Provence
Domaine Hauvette France | Provence | Baux de Provence
Domaine Hauvette France | Provence | Baux de Provence
Not far from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, a tourist town known for Roman ruins and as the place where Van Gogh painted “The Starry Night,” you’ll find Domaine Hauvette. Nestled among the foothills of Les Alpilles, the vines are surrounded by a rocky and wild landscape—the clay and limestone soil retains moisture for the arid summer months, the Mistral blows half the year, and <em>garrigue</em> is seemingly everywhere. It is here that in the early 1980s Dominique Hauvette, seeking more sunshine, left her job as a lawyer in the Savoie, re-discovered her passion for raising horses, and began studying oenology. Thirty-some years later and Dominique now has 17 hectares of vines and an international reputation for making benchmark natural wines.
Perhaps there is no region more closely aligned with the history to Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant than Provence. Provence is where Richard Olney, an American ex-pat and friend of Alice Waters, lived, and introduced Kermit to the great producers of Provence, most importantly Domaine Tempier of Bandol. Kermit also spends upwards of half his year at his home in a small town just outside of Bandol.
Vitis vinifera first arrived in France via Provence, landing in the modern day port city of Marseille in the 6th century BC. The influence of terroir on Provençal wines goes well beyond soil types. The herbs from the pervasive scrubland, often referred to as garrigue, as well as the mistral—a cold, drying wind from the northwest that helps keep the vines free of disease—play a significant role in the final quality of the grapes. Two more elements—the seemingly ever-present sun and cooling saline breezes from the Mediterranean—lend their hand in creating a long growing season that result in grapes that are ripe but with good acidity.
Rosé is arguably the most well known type of wine from Provence, but the red wines, particularly from Bandol, possess a great depth of character and ability to age. The white wines of Cassis and Bandol offer complexity and ideal pairings for the sea-influenced cuisine. Mourvèdre reigns king for red grapes, and similar to the Languedoc and Rhône, Grenache, Cinsault, Marsanne, Clairette, Rolle, Ugni Blanc among many other grape varieties are planted.
Clos Saint-Joseph France | Provence | Côtes de Provence
Domaine du Gros ’Noré France | Provence | Bandol
Clos Saint-Joseph France | Provence
Domaine de Terrebrune France | Provence | Provence
Domaine de Terrebrune France | Provence | Bandol
Domaine Hauvette France | Provence | Baux de Provence
Domaine Tempier France | Provence | Bandol
Domaine du Gros ’Noré France | Provence | Bandol
Domaine Tempier France | Provence | Bandol
Clos Saint-Joseph France | Provence | Côtes de Provence
Domaine de la Tour du Bon France | Provence | Bandol
Domaine Tempier France | Provence | Bandol
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.
Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and, during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/alcohol
Many food and beverage cans have linings containing bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical known to cause harm to the female reproductive system. Jar lids and bottle caps may also contain BPA. You can be exposed to BPA when you consume foods or beverages packaged in these containers. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/bpa