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2014 Alpilles Blanc “Dolia”
Domaine HauvetteDominique Hauvette is a rare breed: intensely stern, unyielding in her convictions, and at times cynical, she is not the jolly Provençal character we are accustomed to from Occitan folklore. Her wines, in turn, are made via singular methods, without artifice, and cannot be compared to anything else in the region—or, for that matter, anywhere in France. To better understand this talented renegade, who has farmed the limestone-heavy soils near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, in the shadow of the Alpilles mountain range, since the early 1980s, sample a bottle of this mind-bending white. A blend of Marsanne, Clairette, and Roussanne raised in concrete eggs, Dolia will take your nose and palate for a ride. Smoke, wildflower honey, gunflint, and quince feature in this fleshy, sturdy masterpiece. The finish, reminiscent of pure stone, is as decisively firm as Dominique herself, but fear not—both are quite lovable once you get to know them.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2014 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 1/3 Roussanne , 1/3 Marsanne, and 1/3 Clairette |
Appellation: | IGP Alpilles |
Country: | France |
Region: | Provence |
Producer: | Domaine Hauvette |
Vineyard: | .7 ha, 23 years |
Soil: | Clay, limestone |
Farming: | Biodynamic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
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About The Producer
Domaine Hauvette
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.
About The Region
Provence
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.
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Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch