2022 ChevernyDomaine du Salvard
France | Loire
$22
Producers
Marsanne vines and apricot trees share a sliver of the storied hill of Hermitage, as both need to keep their feet wet, with roots in a soil that retains humidity—a rarity on the parched, windswept rise. However, a few exceptional parcels lie near the summit, where geology has gifted to Marsanne (and us) a soil with crushed limestone on top, and plenty of water retained year-round well below the surface. From the small plot called La Pierrelle, whose vines are more than eighty years old, comes this Marsanne with magnificent floral, pit fruit, and bitter notes. Some say those fruit notes are the result of bees pollinating the surrounding apricot trees as well as the vines; others claim they are from the plants’ interlacing roots. In any event, the flavors of fruit and flower over time veer toward a light touch of honey, and those bitters get more complex, refined, and irresistible. The classic local pairings for Hermitage blanc, especially as it ages, are white meat and fish dishes heavy in cream, butter, and morel mushrooms: timeless matches for a decidedly old-school wine.
—Chris Santini
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2018 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Marsanne |
Appellation: | Hermitage |
Country: | France |
Region: | Northern Rhône |
Producer: | Barruol / Lynch |
Winemaker: | Louis Barruol |
Vineyard: | 80 years |
Soil: | Granite |
Aging: | Pressed and fermented in Burgundian barrels |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 14% |
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Hermitage
Barruol Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Côte Rôtie
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Crozes Hermitage
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Crozes Hermitage
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Côte Rôtie
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Côte Rôtie
On the wines of the northern Rhône, Kermit wrote in Adventures on the Wine Route, “The best combine a reminder of the sunny Mediterranean with the more self-conscious, intellectual appeal of the great Burgundies farther north, which is not a bad combination.” Like the wines of Provence, Burgundy, and Beaujolais, Kermit was introduced to this region by Richard Olney, an American ex-pat and friend of Alice Waters.
Though technically part of the same region as the southern Rhône and connected by the Rhône River, much differentiates the north from the south. The climate is continental and in general cooler than that Mediterranean climate of the south. The appellations are significantly smaller: Cornas has less than 300 acres planted to vine and Hermitage around 345. The area planted is minute when compared to Gigondas (3,000+ acres) and Châteauneuf-du-Pape (nearly 8,000 acres). Many of the great wines come from steep hillside vines—terraced during Roman times. It was clear to the Romans that great wine could be made here and DNA evidence now shows that Syrah is in fact indigenous to the Rhône.
The terroir is predominantly granite and lastly, blends of the wines are mostly single grape varieties. Only four grape varieties are permitted in AOC blends: Syrah, Viogner, Marsanne, and Roussanne (as compared to the 19 permitted varieties allowed in Châteauneuf). The red wines are nearly all Syrah and Condrieu and Château Grillet must be 100% Viogner. The whites of Hermitage, Saint Joseph, Saint Péray, and Crozes-Hermitages may only be blends of Marsanne and Roussanne.
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Condrieu
André Perret France | Northern Rhône | Condrieu
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Côte Rôtie
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Crozes Hermitage
Jean-Claude Marsanne France | Northern Rhône | Saint-Joseph
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Saint-Joseph
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Collines Rhodaniennes
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Saint-Joseph
Barruol / Lynch France | Northern Rhône | Crozes Hermitage
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Saint Joseph
Lionel Faury France | Northern Rhône | Côte Rôtie
Jean-Claude Marsanne France | Northern Rhône | Saint-Joseph
Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.
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