Wine of the Moment: 2008 Kermit Lynch Vaucluse Blanc

Since we're focusing on the Rhone this week it gives me the perfect opportunity to talk about one of our favorite whites in the store right now, the Kermit Lynch Vaucluse Blanc. The whites of both the Southern and Northern Rhone share many of the same grapes with the most important being Viognier, Marsanne, Rousanne and Clairette, plus the powerhouse of the Southern Rhone, Grenache Blanc. In the same way as the reds, the whites tend to be blended from multiple varieties, but production is typically small with white wine making up only about 10% of the total.

Often time importers use producers in their portfolio to make special cuvees that are blended, produced and bottled to their specification as Kermit Lynch has done here with Domaine de Durban for the vin de pays bottling. Usually they use the label of the Domaine producing the wine, but in one of Kermit's newsletters he calls their label "fairly dippy" and decided to put his own label on the bottle. That being said, you can imagine how involved he’s going to be with bottles that are going to carry his name on the front label, so you know you can probably expect a solid, consistent product every year.

Made from equal parts Chardonnay and Viognier, and fermented in concrete tanks, this is fun, succulent, dry and crisp. Although Domaine de Durban is mainly know for their Beaumes de Venise, but this seductive little white with it's peach and floral aromas is great example of the quality they produce, especially at the price of $11.99!