About Franck

Franck AGOSTINI -- conversations zooming from a customer in front of him, to a distributor in another state, to a trucking company in France, to a farmer with label questions in the Loire Valley; he is a human hummingbird. Non-stop, working with the energy and focus of multiple people, all the while able to find and convince up-and-coming, unknown producers of truly authentic french wine that he is the right agent for them.  And he is.  Somehow he finds his nectar (these growers/producers) with an incredible palate sharpened by a childhood working in his parents' perfume shops on Ile de Re and Cognac.  These estates he has selected are the truest example of those words that are often overused and usually thrown around too casually these days:  typicity, artisan, authentic.  He selects wines that evoke France and are not catered to the international trends.  They are unmistakably, unapologetically French, and we are thankful that he is fighting for them to remain this way.  To his growers, he becomes their best friend and ally -- bluntly and honestly telling them when they have failed with a wine, or giving them hugs and praise when their wines speak of their origin and soil with balance and grace.  Watching him and tasting his wines at this time, I can imagine Kermit Lynch in the late seventies, or Joe Dressner a decade ago developing what will be a legendary portfolio.

Craig HEFFLEY - Wine Authorities, Durham, NC