The Baron Returns: New Releases from Fan-Favorite Montfaucon
Vigneron Rudi des Pins is at the helm of Château de Montfaucon, an estate in Southern Rhône that represents one of the longest-running partners we’ve had in our Direct Import program. Long ago, when directly importing wines was just a twinkle in co-owner Clyde Beffa’s eye, he met Rudi and tasted his wonderful wines; the rest is history. The wines of Montfaucon are fan favorites year after year.
Rudi is based in the appellation of Lirac and has been head of the local Lirac growers association for several years. His family lineage dates back to the late 18th century and he references his forebears often in the names of the wines themselves. More on that later... The Château de Montfaucon began its construction in the 11th century and is one of only three walled castles in Europe. Rudi and his family still reside in the castle, but Rudi spends most of the time in his vineyards working the vines and the soil or shepherding the wines through their elevage. Whenever I visit, we love to tool around the vineyards, and he especially loves to show off many of the parcels of century-old vines.
I had the chance to visit with Rudi and his wife Mari last year in June at the property. We saw all the new plantings including a new parcel for his Châteauneuf-du-Pape under the Baron de Montfaucon label. They had also finished their organic conversion, which made it even that much more impressive! This year, I diverted to the Loire Valley instead of the Rhône, so I had no time to visit the winery. I was fortunate to spend some time with Rudi and his son, Leon at Wine Paris, though, back in February. We had a chance to catch-up and taste through all the new wines, many of which are newly (finally!) arrived. I can’t believe we have been out of stock of these staples for a few months, now. We quickly sold out of the last vintage of the Baron Louis and the new La Côte bottling of the Côtes du Rhône because they were both just so darn delicious. None of Montfaucon’s classic Rhône wines linger here, so snatch these up while we have them!
Back in stock, the 2019 Château de Montfaucon "La Côte" Côtes-du-Rhône $14.99 is a joyous return. It is everything you could ask for in an everyday Rhône. It has juicy, rich fruit, spicy flavors, and a friendly mouthfeel that makes for easy weeknight imbibing. This continues to be one of the best in class of its kind!
A recent addition to the Montfaucon line is the 2022 Château de Montfaucon Lirac Rosé $17.99. Rudi introduced it a couple of years ago, and it was an instant success with our customers. This fuller-bodied, deeper-hued pink wine is reminiscent of the richer-style rosés made famous by Tavel (which also happens to be the adjacent appellation). This goes through some barrel aging (all neutral oak) that provides a richer red fruit character accented by notes of peach, blood orange, and a whisp of salinity. This is a great rosé to help carry us through to the next season.
We don’t talk much about the whites of the Southern Rhône, but the 2021 Baron de Montfaucon Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc $17.99 should certainly be put on your radar. The wine is a blend of mostly Clairette (some of Rudi’s oldest vines are Clairette) with a little Grenache Blanc and Viognier. Clairette provides nice structure and mineral tones, Grenache Blanc adds weight, and Viognier gives some lift to the aromatics. It’s a nice three-way blend that showcases each grape’s unique contribution to make a sum-greater-than-its-parts kind of cuvée. This wine was built to bring to parties and share! It has delicious flavors of nectarine, white flowers, and marzipan.
Finally, the new vintage of the wine that everyone adores has arrived—the Baron Louis! Like all vintages of this wine, Rudi ages it at the estate for many years before release, and the 2018 Château de Montfaucon "Baron Louis" Lirac $24.99 is the current vintage. Rudi has always felt that this wine benefits with a few years in bottle before it goes to market, and I couldn’t agree more. The 2018 is pure Provençal pleasure with its flavors of cherry, blackcurrant, garrigue, and herbs de Provence permeating the glass. The 2018 is elegant and refined and is drinking perfectly right now. These traditionally age well for a decade but this new arrival is going to be hard to keep your hands off of!