MCF Rare Wine
Rouges Queues - Genuine Burgundy
We wine hawkers often talk about how a given winemaker's wines reflect their personality.
I imagine it's tiring to hear.
I mean...I get tired of thinking it...let alone saying/typing it...
But then you fall in love with a set of wines like the wonderful Burgundies of Domaine des Rouges Queues, and, a few years later, host a dinner at Momofuku Noodle with the perfectly wonderful humans that are proprietors Isabelle and Jean-Yves Vantey and you end up right there again...
...these wines are so pure and expressive and...authentic...
...the couple who makes them are so amiable, and honest and..so real...
(crap, I have to think/say/type it again...)
And that's really what happened...
That night, rather than being a wine dinner where things were serious or analytical, or competitive or pretentious or overly structured, the room quickly settled into such a fun and comfortable atmosphere that there's no way a passer by would have guessed that, not long ago, this was a room full of folks who mostly didn't know each other.
Such is the power of easy, unaffected and expressive wines that, in the spirit of their creators, offer pure joy.
At the end of the evening, as we were saying goodbye, Isabelle and Jean-Yves both made a point of looking me in the eye to express the gratitude they had for the evening and, most importantly for believing in their wines...
...you know, that kind of gratitude that you don't hear, but feel.
'Their wines are just like them,' I thought, 'and now I have to say that...again...'
So, here are four of their lovely, and unfortunately very limited, 2018s, which...well...
...yeah...
DOMAINE des ROUGES QUEUES 2018
Coteaux Bourguignons Celsius
This wonderful bottling of 100% Gamay shows delicate, high-toned and very aromatic dark fruits that are packed with all manner of subtle, herbaceous/earthy nuances with a nicely mineral finish. All of you fans of The Color Collector wines should be all over it.
Maranges Vigne Blanche
The Vigne Blanche parcel has, versus the other Maranges in their lineup, a high chalk/limestone component to its soil, hence the name ‘White Vines’. This is one I’m always particularly fond of, for the linear, focused, chiseled profile, and lively, fragrant character that the ‘white’ soils endow it with. When combined with the darker, denser nature of 2018, the resulting tension makes for a wonderfully-balanced wine.
Maranges 1er Cru Clos Roussots (x-ltd)
The Clos Roussots is a broad, articulate, earthy/stony expression of Pinot Noir. The South-facing, clay-rich vineyard adds texture and breadth, while the whole-cluster fermentation and hands-off winemaking approach keep it nimble and aromatic.
Maranges 1er Cru La Fussiere (x-ltd)
The Fussiere is always a deep, highly expressive glass of stunningly honest and deceptively robust wine whose feistier aromatics and energy often belie the firm, mineral/inflected structure at its core. In a vintage like 2018, with its denser, friendlier profile, the 'seriousness' built into this wine is even more deceptively hidden, but, make no mistake, this (like the Roussots) is a vin de garde.
You may order by emailing info@mcf-rarewine.com or calling 212.255.8870.
Matt Franco
MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
