France: 38 Wines from Kermit Lynch

A fantastic event with many of the wines available from Kermit Lynch in Oregon. Things kicked off with an older flight, and then into the current stuff. As always, a range of enjoyment was offered, but I found some new discoveries that I fell in love with. Perhaps the biggest revelation was the 2009 Domaine Vinci Vin de Pays Des Cotes Catalanes Rafalot... wine of a region I'm definitely usually not fond of.

• 1991 Coche-Dury Meursault 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

  Funky, slightly oxidized notes. But very heavy and rich overall, with nice aromatic texture, though not too much complexity. Very rich texture on palate entry. Soft. Impressively soft, deep, and sexy feeling. Pretty mellow flavors, though, showing mild tartness and slight egg yolk flavor. Really though, the textural massage on the palate is enough elegance to carry this on the palate. Nice dialup of acid on the finish. Quite nice and elegant, showing a rich, deep presence. Sexy, classy stuff, but here too; it's more about the impression this wine leaves and the classy nature of the presentation than it is about the flavors, which aren't particularly distinctive. A lovely experience, though.

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• 1992 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Soft, mild, and slightly funky aromas. Rich and heavy body on the palate, which is smooth, soft, and pretty mild, showing some funky old lemon notes. Overall, quite lean and mild. Lean again on the finish, with decent acidity driving tart notions, but really not too much depth here.

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• 1993 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain 93 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  I pulled this to my nose and immediately had a wide smile. Awesome aromas! So rich and beautiful. Somehow, like liquefied gold. Aromas of starfruit and honeysuckle. I could smell this for days. Very nice and penetrating on the palate. Such depth. Rich honeysuckle that's killer. Nice botrytized notes. Mellow, but rich acidity. Puckering and tart on the impressively clean finish. Nice lingering notes. A lovely wine.

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• 1993 Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Migoua 90 Points

  France, Provence, Bandol

  Very funky notes. Smells old and bretty. Still, there's plenty of vibrancy underneath that, if you can get past it, particularly with vigorous swirling. There's blackberries and strawberries covered in dusty notes. Nice palate, which is soft, and still some tannin present. Good spiced dark fruit with slight old wood notes, but not too much depth. Quite tart and acidic on the finish. Nice puckeringly tannic with more sips.

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• 1994 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Very nice old school richness; richness without being overpowering or overbearing. Nice soil notes and soft old meaty fruit. Nice exuberance on palate entry, showing quite lovely, soft earthy cellar floor notes and tart and lightly puckering earthy red berry overtones. Nice lingering notes, but it's fairly puckering and light in the realm of depth. A nice drink, for sure.

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• 2011 André-Michel Brégeon Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie 88 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie

  Very pungent aromas, almost funky, but it's primarily grassy notes. Fresh palate, zesty and nice. Mineral driven and pretty sharp. Nice finish, with soft, soily veggies.

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• 2012 Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre 88 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Very fruity, like lycee fruit. Pretty and exuberant nose, which seems pretty old school. Similar on the palate, with pretty candied lemon and the rind of a melon added in. Very nice sweet honeydew notes with minerals on the finish. Nice spice, and this lingers quite wel.

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• NV Champalou Vouvray Pétillant Brut 88 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray Pétillant

  Fairly quiet aromas. Soft and mild. Nice frothy palate texture, showing nice body and smooth, sweet fruit. Not much depth overall, but still a fun, lovely wine.

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• 1980 Château d'Epiré Savennières 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières

  Lemon curd aromas, old rusty galvanized pipe, and old musty pond water with frogs jumping around in it. That's what this smells like. Nice! Funky palate, with tart lemons. It's soft textually and overall fairly mellow, though thoroughly intact. More funky notes on the finish, but again, fairly mellow.

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• 2012 Roland Lavantureux Chablis 86 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis

  Some quiet notes of metal filings on the nose, but it's pretty soft. Mellow, lightly mineral driven palate. Nice lingering tartness, with some metallic notes. Pretty lean, overall.

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• 2006 Michel Colin-Deléger et Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Demoiselles 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Nice aromatic depth. Pretty. Quite compelling nose. Wow, incredible palate entry. Really great depth. So pure in its expressiveness. Notable wood, but it's nice and in balance. Such pure expression of soil and fruit. Similar deep, long finish, with just the right amount of balanced acidity without being cutting. Just soft and elegant. Lingers for a minute. Just awesome. Classy throughout in its approach. As most wines in this lineup were in the ~$30 range I freaked when I was poured this one before having to look back at the list to realize what it was... whoops. While not totally blind, it's elegance certainly stood apart from the rest. Drinking in a fine place today, actually.

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• 2011 Albert Boxler Pinot Gris Brand 90 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Exuberant nose. Really nice depth, showing some length. Smells of cleaning products, but the sweetly fruited, melony kind. Awesome entry on the palate with a smooth texture and sweetness, but a little chunky textually. Soft and mellow though, with notes of melon. A little funky on the finish, showing odd texture and fruit. Still nice, though.

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• NV Lambert de Seyssel Seyssel Petit Royal 81 Points

  France, Savoie, Seyssel

  Really metallic notes on the nose, with some minerality. It smells like a crusty old dog turd after the dog ate a bunch of metal. Oyster shells on the palate, but not in a good way. Literally like you're chewing up the shell, that kind of experience. Tastes like the slime that grows on the side of your pool coupled with funky rotting fruit. Rank finish, too. I wonder why I scored this so high?

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• NV J. Lassalle Champagne Premier Cru Préférence Brut 90 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  After the horrible Savoie Methode Traditionnalle before this, I quite loved this. It was nice and fresh, with a soft elegance to the aromas. Nice and soft palate, with good zesty soft notes. Lovely minerals and acid on the finish, which was quite tart and drying.

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• 2011 Jean-François Ganevat Côtes du Jura Cuvée de l'enfant terrible 92 Points

  France, Jura, Côtes du Jura

  Awesome, funky and rich aromas. Feels spritzy. Notes of briar, tart and spice. Chili flake and lemon. Totally kick ass array of notes. Very nice palate entry. Impressive and smooth, like a jelly candy without the sweetness. Lovely. Soft, milder finish, with some funky spice. Impressive stuff!

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• 2012 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvée Corcelette 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Very lean and green aromas, atypical of this wine. Soft, mellow palate entry, with some spearmint notes. Spicy and zesty, and again a bit green for this guy. Soft and spicy finish which is decent, mild, and pretty lean.

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• 2006 Domaine Roulot Bourgogne 86 Points

  France, Burgundy, Bourgogne

  Soft and mild nose that smells like this wine is "ready." Soft palate entry, which is quite mellow. Some rich strawberry notes, but again, pretty soft and mellow overall. Some puckering tartness, but pretty lean and not much depth.

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• 2011 Domaine Pierre Guillemot Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Serpentières 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru

  Spicy green notes on the nose. Quite perfumey and tart. Nice spicy, tart, puckering, and lean palate. Decent fruit, with a medicinal green note throughout as well. Good depth on the finish, showing some real elegance. Slightly spicy and green. Nice stuff.

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• 2008 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Roncières 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  Soft, but quite a lot of red fruit on the nose. Smells a bit like an Oregon Pinot Noir, honestly. Pretty awesome elegant texture though that definitely is the hallmark of NSG for me. Really lovely and approachable texture, though tannins do quickly build. Softly fruited on the palate. The finish is tart and a little gritty, but not too much depth at present. Something to look forward to, though.

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• 2008 Domaine Arretxea Irouléguy 86 Points

  France, Southwest France, Pays Basque, Irouléguy

  Shifting gears from where we were, this is pretty heavy duty stuff. Thick and deep. Cabernet Franc and Tannat, so perhaps to be expected. Kind of funky, though discrete. Soft and mellow palate, but tannins build. Tart and generically puckering finish. Pretty mild.

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• 2010 Château de Lascaux Coteaux du Languedoc 88 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc

  Soft and simple nose. Very nice richness of fruit on the palate; quite nice. Tannins build, but they're pretty soft. A simple wine, but yummy, with nice fruit on the finish.

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• 2012 Famille Brunier Vaucluse Le Pigeoulet 86 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Vaucluse

  Soft, mild nose is followed by a mellow palate entry that astes like every day wine. Nice and mellow, without much tannins. Soft and tart finish. Nothing out of place here, but nothing too compelling either.

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• 2010 Domaine Auguste Clape Le Vin des Amis 87 Points

  France, Rhône, Vin de France

  Funky notes, and a little juicy. Mellow and again funk on the palate. Lingers awhile, but not all that interesting.

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• 2009 Domaine les Pallières Gigondas Les Racines 83 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas

  Well at least I consistently don't like this wine, apparently. I didn't recognize it, but I had the 2007 rendition 4 years ago and disliked that wine similarly to this. Tart and lean on the nose, showing tons of exuberant fruit. But the booze is the problem here, which comes across awkward, funky and tart. Not enjoyable and not interesting enough to pay more attention to for a more detailed note.

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• 2010 Domaine de la Grange des Pères Vin de Pays de l'Hérault 90 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Vin de Pays de l'Hérault

  Mmmm yeah, I guess I don't get this wine. I can see what he means about how everyone in Washington trying to copy this wine, because this tastes like any obvious wine from Washington. That said, it's done fairly well, and it is enjoyable, but it is basically just a big goopy ball of delicious fruit. Not sure why you need to pay $100 for that. The aromas are huge; a big boy, but nice and smooth. Soft palate entry with a soft, smooth texture. Tart notes, and certainly structured, despite the size of the wine. Still though, the palate makes this feel like a "manufactured" wine. Tart and large finish. Yup, tasters like Washington after all. But again, a nicely made Washington wine (Yes, I know it's the other way around).

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• 2011 Domaine Diochon Moulin-à-Vent Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent

  Much more enjoyable than the 2009 of this wine. This offers hefty aromas that are surprising. Quite largely scaled, pleasing fruit. Very nice fruit on palate entry. Lovely and elegant. Balanced and smooth. Very nice. Great textural fruit and structural balance. Lovely floral notes on the finish, which is deep, elegant and structure. Pretty impressive stuff!

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• 2010 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  After loving the 2009, this just wasn't showing well today. The aromas are quite thick, with a strong green tinge to them. Tart and large, but a bit too lean and lacking that juicy fruit this wine generally presents. Soft on palate entry and showing more fruit here. Tart and lean, but large in structure. Soft and elegant finish, which is tart and puckering. Really, just not showing too much today. Disappointing.

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• 2009 Domaine de Terrebrune Bandol Terroir du Trias 83 Points

  France, Provence, Bandol

  Very hefty aromas. Large fruit. Very tannic and thick palate. Bold. Too big and thick for me. Too much on the finish. Tastes modern.

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• 2012 Kermit Lynch Selections Côtes du Rhône 85 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

  Soft and mellow aromas. Some green notes on the mellow palate. Soft and tart, and pretty simple. Juicy and simple finish.

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• 2011 Château La Roque Pic St. Loup 90 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Pic St. Loup

  Tart, lean aromas that are mineral driven, with a slight green bend to them. Very smooth, soft palate texture. Nice green notes, but also really nice strawberry tones. Nice lush finish. An excellent QPR. Impressive juiciness.

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• 2012 Domaine Gachot-Monot Côte de Nuits Villages 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Nuits Villages

  Quite funky notes on the nose, but there's still decent fruit poking through. Soft, mellow palate, showing nice juicy fruit, but still tart and slightly funky. Really smooth mouth feel. Really impressive texture lingers after swallowing. Quite sexy, actually. Lovely stuff!

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• 2011 Famille Brunier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Piedlong 84 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Hefty aromas. Rich and large palate. Tastes like purple drank. Really heavy stuff. Thick, medicinal finish that's boozy.

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• 2013 Château des Deux Rocs Cabrières Premices Rosé 88 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Cabrières

  Lovely fruit on the soft aromas. Really nice and soft, smooth palate. Lovely fruit lingers on the smooth, yummy finish.

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• 2011 Domaine Vinci Côtes Catalanes Coyade 91 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes Catalanes

  Yikes, this wine was a revelation! Awesome. Funky aromas, but already shows nice tartness and herbal funk. The palate is tart, lean, but elegent. Smooth and lean, but lovely, with fantastic intensity. Rich and imposing. Lovely impressive finish with compelling depth. Wish this was for sale.

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• 2009 Domaine Vinci Rafalot 92 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes Catalanes

  Again, what a surprising wine! Fantastic juice from a region I'm normally not too find of, but this shows real class. Lovely, soft aromas of impressive depth with a nice funky bend to it. Funky palate, which is lovely and smooth. Elegant, though mellow. Impressive presence. What! The fruit on the finish! What fantastic dance of thick, luscious fruit, acid, and an elegant texture that's left. Just so smooth throughout. A truly awesome wine. Just 13.5% alcohol... the way all Languedoc Roussillon should be, perhaps.

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• 2012 Domaine du Joncier Lirac 85 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Lirac

  Large wine... soft, mild, and smoothly fruited palate, but fairly simple, with tannins quickly covering things up. Puckering, tart finish. Tastes like grape juice.

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• 2011 Domaine le Sang des Cailloux Vacqueyras Cuvée Doucinello 85 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Vacqueyras

  Quiet and soft aromas. Mild palate, which is soft in texture and pretty lean and tart. Puckering, lean finish.

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