Visit to Domaine de Montfaucon
Montfaucon, France
Tasted Tuesday, July 1, 2008 by 14frimaire with 404 views
Introduction
Yesterday I ventured across the Rhône, right across from Chateauneuf, to visit the Domaine de Montfaucuon, which dates from at least the reign of Louix XV in the de Pins familly. The current regime, under Rodolphe, dates from 1995. He trained in the States, at Davis, and interned in Australia (Henschke?), as well as a stage at Vieux Télégraphe. This is a very old family domaine, but there is nothing sleepy or hide-bound about it. Many thanks to Michel Abood for setting it up and to Rodolphe de Pins and his assistant, Marie, for taking time out from their busy schedule to talk, show me around, and pour me their wines. Three things stood out to me from tasting through this range from top to bottom: an uncommon consistency; a restrained, elegant style, all too rare in these parts; and the mix of family tradition with a sense of curiosity and experimentation (e.g. trying out co-fermentation at various levels of ripeness, with different varieties from the same parcels). Fermentation is in concrete; the top cuvée is raised in used barrique.
Flight 1 - Vin de Pays (4 Notes)
The white and red here, for me, were the standouts. Many domaines produce a fine tête de cuvée, but I have only rarely come across such impressive vin de pays. (I've run across some downright nasty ones, even from exalted estates.) This results obviously and most importantly from the domaine's commitment. They treat these wines the same as the côtes du Rhônes, the difference residing in the particular location of the parcels. But it also has to do with political machinations during the 1930s, when the AOC boundaries were drawn up; if I remember correctly, the local mayor wanted to avoid the taxes he assumed would go along with a more exalted designation.
Flight 2 - Côtes du Rhône (3 Notes)
These were impressive in their own right. Although they were somewhat muted, having been bottled just a couple of weeks ago, the material is clearly strong. They work from old, sometimes very old, vines and look for finesse rather than power.
2007 Château de Montfaucon Viognier
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays
I confess Viognier d'Oc is not my favorite category, but, whoa, this is good. Really good. Aromatics jump out of the glass. It's got precision, freshness, and a hint of minerality. Finding whites in this area with bright acidity and minerality is very rare. Weighs in around 12.5-13%abv. I liked it so much I brought one home and immediately stuck it in the ice bucket: just what the duck, pork-bits, olives, and fermented milk were looking for on a hot day.
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2007 Domaine de Montfaucon Les Gardettes Rosé
France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Gard
A rosé de saignée, this was closed for business.
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2005 Domaine de Montfaucon Les Gardettes
France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Gard
This, to me was the most impressive wine of the tasting. Amazing quality for a vin de pays. This is at least Côtes du Rhône quality, and a nice one at that. Amazing complexity, nice purity, fruits shading to black, with medium-fine tannin. This is an impressive start.
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