Wine Wednesday: A Tour de France with Kermit Lynch
Four Iconic Growers. Four Distinct French Terroirs.
Wednesday, September 2 | 5:00–7:00 PM
This week, Wine Wednesday gives us an opportunity to explore one of the most influential import portfolios in American wine: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant. Founded in Berkeley in 1972, Kermit Lynch built his reputation by seeking out small, traditional growers whose wines express their vineyards rather than a manufactured house style. Today, the French portfolio spans 15 regions and more than 140 producers, including relationships that reach back decades.
Our tasting travels through four dramatically different corners of France, from the foothills of the Vosges in Alsace to Cabernet Franc country in the Loire, the granite slopes of Morgon, and finally the sun-drenched Mediterranean vineyards of Bandol.
This is Kermit Lynch in four glasses.
Alsace
Aromatic Whites from the Foothills of the Vosges
Protected from rain by the Vosges Mountains, Alsace enjoys an unusually dry climate and an extraordinary mosaic of soils. The region is celebrated for intensely aromatic white wines that combine ripe fruit with acidity, minerality, and exceptional transparency to terroir.
2023 Albert Boxler Muscat
Alsace
Albert Boxler is one of the great names of modern Alsace. Based in the tiny village of Niedermorschwihr, the domaine is now led by Jean Boxler, whose grandfather Albert was the first generation to estate-bottle the family's wines. Kermit Lynch describes Jean as responsible for some of the finest white wines not only in Alsace, but in the world.
This 100% Muscat comes from the limestone soils of the Boland lieu-dit, with a south-southeast exposure. The grapes are harvested by hand, fermentation occurs naturally, and the wine is raised in traditional foudre. Most importantly, this is dry Muscat, not a sweet wine.
Expect an explosively aromatic combination of fresh grape, citrus, white flowers, and delicate spice, but with a wonderfully dry, weightless palate and vibrant acidity.
Why We're Pouring It: Muscat is one of Alsace's most misunderstood varieties. In Boxler's hands, it becomes a serious terroir wine, simultaneously exuberant in aroma and precise on the palate.
The Loire Valley
Cabernet Franc with a Different Personality
Our second stop brings us to Bourgueil, west of Tours along the Loire River. Here, Cabernet Franc thrives on gravel, sand, clay, and limestone soils. While Bourgueil is best known for red wine, Cabernet Franc also produces wonderfully savory, refreshing rosé.
2024 Domaine de la Chanteleuserie Bourgueil Rosé
Loire Valley
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie is a longtime Kermit Lynch grower in Bourgueil, producing classic Loire Cabernet Franc with an emphasis on freshness and regional character.
Their Bourgueil Rosé provides a wonderfully different interpretation of Cabernet Franc. Kermit Lynch has described previous vintages as combining red berries and blood orange with a creamy, round texture and zesty freshness.
Expect wild strawberry, raspberry, citrus, subtle herbs, and mineral freshness, with enough texture to make this far more than simply a poolside rosé.
Why We're Pouring It: Cabernet Franc is usually associated with savory red wines, but Bourgueil demonstrates just how versatile the variety can be. This is rosé with genuine Loire identity and tremendous food versatility.
Beaujolais
The Granite Slopes of Morgon
Beaujolais takes us south to the granite hills north of Lyon, where Gamay reaches its most profound expression in the region's ten crus.
Among them, Morgon is famous for producing wines with unusual depth and longevity. And within Morgon, few vineyard names carry greater significance than the Côte du Py.
2024 Jean Foillard Morgon “Côte du Py”
Beaujolais
Jean Foillard is one of the legendary figures of Beaujolais. Jean and Agnès Foillard took over the family domaine in 1980, and most of their vineyards lie on the Côte du Py, Morgon's celebrated hill of granite and schist.
Foillard became part of the group Kermit Lynch famously dubbed the “Gang of Four,” alongside Marcel Lapierre, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Guy Breton. Inspired by Jules Chauvet, these growers rejected industrial winemaking in favor of old vines, healthy vineyards, rigorous sorting, native fermentations, minimal sulfur, and little or no filtration. Their work fundamentally changed how serious wine drinkers viewed Beaujolais.
The 2024 vintage was cooler and less powerful than several recent solar vintages, producing Beaujolais that Kermit Lynch characterizes as more elegant, intimate, and charming rather than driven by sheer concentration.
Look for wild cherry, raspberry, violet, mineral, earth, and subtle spice, with the silky texture of Gamay underpinned by the structure and mineral depth of Côte du Py.
Why We're Pouring It: This is not merely Beaujolais. Foillard's Côte du Py is one of the benchmark wines of the entire region and a compelling demonstration of just how profound Gamay can become in the right vineyard and hands.
Bandol
Mourvèdre, Mediterranean Sun & a Legendary Family
Our final stop takes us to Bandol, along the Mediterranean coast of Provence. Here, abundant sunshine, limestone-rich soils, and cooling maritime influence provide an exceptional environment for Mourvèdre, producing some of France's most powerful and age-worthy southern reds.
2023 Domaine Tempier “Lulu & Lucien” Bandol Rouge
Provence
Few producers are more intertwined with Kermit Lynch's history than Domaine Tempier. The property has been in the family since 1834, but its modern story begins when Lucie “Lulu” Tempier married Lucien Peyraud in 1936. Lucien became instrumental in restoring Mourvèdre to prominence and helped establish Bandol as its own appellation in 1941. Kermit Lynch considers Tempier a cornerstone of his portfolio.
The domaine is now certified organic and practices biodynamic farming. Its classic Bandol Rouge is dominated by Mourvèdre, complemented by Grenache, Cinsault, and a small amount of Carignan, grown primarily on clay and limestone soils.
The “Lulu & Lucien” name is especially meaningful, honoring the couple whose work helped define modern Bandol. Lulu herself became legendary for the generosity of her table and Provençal cooking, welcoming generations of wine lovers, writers, and chefs to Domaine Tempier.
Expect blackberry, black cherry, plum, violet, Provençal herbs, black olive, leather, earth, and spice, with Mourvèdre's distinctive combination of power, savory complexity, and firm structure.
Why We're Pouring It: Tempier isn't simply an important Bandol producer. It helped create the modern identity of the appellation and remains one of the great benchmarks for Mourvèdre anywhere in the world.
Four Wines, Four Terroirs, One Legendary Importer
This lineup captures exactly what has made the Kermit Lynch portfolio so compelling for more than five decades. These aren't wines selected because they conform to a particular style. They are wines that taste unmistakably of where they come from and who made them.
From Boxler's aromatic Alsatian Muscat to Chanteleuserie's refreshing Cabernet Franc rosé, Foillard's profound Côte du Py Gamay, and Tempier's legendary Mourvèdre, this is a tour through four very different interpretations of French terroir.
Wine Wednesday
Wednesday, September 2 | 5:00–7:00 PM
Explore. Taste. Learn. Four extraordinary growers through the lens of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant.