Lewis Kopman spent many years as a fine-and-rare buyer and private client specialist at Le Du's Wines in the West Village, where he fell in love with the great wines of Portugal. In 2022 he left his job as a retailer to found GK Selections, focused on highlighting the very best wines of Portugal and bringing them to the US market. He travels and tastes extensively in Portugal and brings his discoveries to fantastic restaurants and retailers across the US.
Artemis Karamolegos, born and raised on the island, is carrying on his family’s legacy at his eponymous winery. The focus is, without a doubt, Assyrtiko in all its glory and potential. Artemis owns some vineyards — most of which are over a hundred years old — and maintains good relationships with smaller growers.
Now, if you're new to these newsletters, you might not know what all the fuss is about. The TL;DR is that the Picq family is among Chablis' great producers -- but one that has no grand cru vineyards, no blockbuster collectibles, and that therefore has stayed outside the field of vision of international collectors.
Anthony Lynch (son of legendary importer Kermit Lynch) came to New York last week and brought a few special bottles from their Berkeley cellar to lunch, including 2007 Vacqueyras Le Sang des Cailloux and Thierry Allemand’s 2005 Cornas Reynard. But the surprise winner with the food was a Corsican red, the 2020 Antoine Arena Patrimonio Rouge, "Morta Maio.”
