MCF Rare Wine

'Unloved', yet Lovely
 
Bertin-Delatte have been mastering the art of dry, seriously textured Chenin in the town Rablay-sur-Layon since 2008.  This is serious Chenin country, and Geneviève Delatte and Nicolas Bertin thusly take their Chenin seriously.  They also make two reds from Grolleau and Pineau d'Aunis.

They do, however, have plots of Sauvignon and Cab Franc.  Most of the Cab Franc in Anjou gets made into rosé, and they'll freely admit that they aren't fans of Sauvignon Blanc, so what are two talented winemakers to do? 

Well, vinify them together into a white wine, of course. 

Seriously, though, with the intent of mitigating what they see as the 'worst parts of each grape' (aka their 'typical' characteristics), they did a direct press (85% Sauvignon, 15% Cab Franc) into fiberglass tanks for a totally non-controlled co-fermentation with indigenous yeasts.  Élevage continues in the tank for eight months and then the wine ages for another four months in bottle. 

The resulting wine, the Les Mal-Aimés 2023 (the unloved) is pretty fantastic...

Picture a dry, crisp, subtly green Sauvignon Blanc, with the texture of a Chenin, the peppery/mineral kick of a Cab Franc, and that finishes so gloriously briny and with perfectly drying acidity. 

Or you can just picture a totally delicious and intriguing white wine, that can go with just about anything you would ever pair a white wine with.

(Especially cheese) 

Either way you'd be correct. 

All you cooks out there - how many times have you taken a rag tag bunch of non-favorite ingredients in your fridge and churned out a deliciously memorable meal with them? 

Geneviève Delatte and Nicolas Bertin did exaclty that...

...but with grapes. 

BERTIN_DELATTE
Les Mal-Aimés 2023

You may also order by replying to this message or calling 212.255.8870.

Matt Franco
MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
249 West 13th Street NYC 10011
212.255.8870

Looking for a wine you loved from a past newsletter or a favorite you can't find anywhere?  Email Raphael at raphael@mcf-rarewine.com, and we'll do our best to find it for you!