Château de Montfaucon: One of Our Rhône Family Favorites
Rudi des Pins, Keith Mabry, Léon des Pins.
Every year I visit the Rhône, no trip is complete without a stop at Château de Montfaucon. At this point, the hospitality and our relationship feel more like family than business. Sadly, I wasn't able to make it to the Rhône this year, but I did have the chance to catch up with Rudi and his son Léon when I attended Wine Paris back in February.
We quickly got up to speed on everything happening at the estate, and there is plenty to be excited about. Montfaucon has now fully converted to organic farming, and I think the wines are showing some of the most precise and inviting character they ever have. Historically speaking, I believe they are releasing some of their best wines to date.
There is also a great spread of vintages in this latest shipment. We go all the way back to the newly released 2020 Baron Louis, which Rudi always holds back to give it additional time to develop, and all the way forward to the new 2025 Lirac Rosé—which may now be my top contender for favorite wine at the estate. In between, we have two terrific whites, the return of La Côte and a new Lirac Rouge that fills the gap perfectly between La Côte and Baron Louis.
Even better, the Montfaucon wines are now available at our new New York location—an absolute win for the New York market!
There is another chapter beginning at Montfaucon as well. Léon joined the estate a few years ago to work alongside his father, learning the vineyards, winemaking and the business of running the domaine. Now he's beginning to explore some ideas of his own with a new project called Roc des Pins.
I tasted the first two wines with Rudi and Léon in Paris, and these are an exciting departure from the traditional Montfaucon lineup. A 100% Cinsault and an unusually deep, vinous Tavel show a lighter, slightly more contrarian side of the Southern Rhône. They deserve a story of their own—and we'll come back to that later in its own article.
But first, Château de Montfaucon. After more than two decades of working with Rudi, this remains one of the relationships I cherish most in our Direct Import program, and this latest collection is a great reminder of why.
Whites
2024 Château de Montfaucon "Comtesse Madeleine" Lirac Blanc | $24.99 The Comtesse Madeleine Lirac Blanc is a blend of Marsanne, Grenache Blanc and Clairette. Cool and crisp, it shows off that lovely subtle stone fruit character I love from these wines. A touch of apple, white flowers and a hint of salinity round out the character. Just enough acid tension to keep the wine balanced and worthy of seeking another sip. Delightful!
2022 Château de Montfaucon "Vin de Mme la Comtesse" Clairette Lirac Blanc | $39.99 Montfaucon always holds this white back for a few years before release, and it is a wine built around nuance rather than sheer intensity. Made from nearly 100% Clairette, it comes from a parcel of centenarian vines that look almost like alien creatures trying to escape the confines of the earth. A handful of old heirloom varieties are co-planted among them, keeping the wine from being entirely Clairette.
But what you are really tasting here is a very old parcel, handled with little intrusion. Aged primarily in large neutral barrels, the wine continues to develop in the glass. It starts with dried nectarine before moving toward persimmon, with a touch of spice and a creamy texture that gives the wine remarkable presence.
This is not a wine you rush through. It commands your attention and would be right at home with a potato and leek soup or some creamy, funky cheeses. I've had bottles with even more age on them, and they only become more intriguing.
I think of this wine like poetry. It may not make perfect sense at first glance—or first sip—but the more time you spend with it, the more it reveals and the more compelling it becomes.
Rosé
2025 Château de Montfaucon Lirac Rosé | $19.99 The genesis of this wine has been great to watch. Originally, it was created as an homage to Tavel, the neighboring appellation famous for its rosé wines. It even came in the long, skinny bottle emblematic of the region. The wine was bright and crisp, with a lighter hue and a more traditional rosé profile.
Over the last few years, vigneron Rudi de Pins has taken it in a very different direction, making it denser, richer and more vinous. It is now an almost brooding rosé that feels closer to historical Tavel, when the wines were more akin to light reds. Rudi even changed the bottle to reflect what he believes is a more serious style of rosé. It is now opaque, concealing that deeper color from prying eyes.
Once poured, though, there is no hiding it. The color is more like freshly squeezed raspberries, with an almost purple rim. And the wine is exceptional. I have tasted every vintage since Rudi began making it and have even tried a few with several years of bottle age. They only get more compelling.
This is winter rosé—or light red, depending on how you want to look at it. Just don't serve it too cold. You don't want to mask all that depth of flavor hiding behind the smoky glass. It is terrific now with roasted fowl—think braised turkey legs or grilled duck—but this is also a rosé worth putting a few bottles away for a couple of years. I think it's only going to get better.
Reds
2021 Château de Montfaucon "La Côte" Côtes-du-Rhône | $15.99 My apologies to all of you who have been waiting for this wine to be replenished. But I am here to tell you, as always, it is worth the wait. The 2021 "La Côte" is everything I want in an old-school Côtes-du-Rhône. Plenty of raspberry, toasted tobacco and a touch of peppery spice, with that savory quality that keeps you coming back to the glass. This wine is not about flashy fruit—it's a classic Rhône that delivers exactly what you want it to.
For those in the know, you know what you've been waiting for. For those who don't, La Côte is one of our all-time best sellers, and with good reason. Vigneron Rudi's wines have been staples here at K&L for years because they consistently deliver character, quality and tremendous value. The 2021 is another reminder of why we keep going back to them.
2022 Château de Montfaucon Lirac | $19.99 A newer addition to the Montfaucon portfolio, this Lirac fills the gap nicely between the La Côte Côtes-du-Rhône and the Baron Louis Lirac. Made entirely from estate fruit, it captures the brighter side of the region.
Rich, ripe red berry fruit leads the way, with strawberry jam, red cherries and even some red flowers for good measure. This is pure pleasure in a glass. It is a more explosive style, reflecting both the ripeness of the vintage and a more ebullient side of vigneron de Pins' winemaking. Where Baron Louis leans darker, savory and more contemplative, this is about freshness, generosity and immediate appeal.
2020 Château de Montfaucon "Baron Louis" Lirac | $26.99 95 DC | 92 WS The Baron Louis has been one of the great wines year after year from Montfaucon. Always a late release, the 2020 has just hit our shores and is firing on all cylinders.
We often compare Lirac to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The two regions sit across the Rhône River from one another and share many of the same soil types, but I have always found something distinctly different in Lirac. There is a more briary quality to the wines, with darker fruit, a savory undertone and a little more of that woodsy garrigue character lurking in the background.
Working with Montfaucon for more than two decades has been a real treat, and the 2020 Baron Louis is everything I look for in Rudi's wines. Brambly blackberry, tobacco, garrigue and a hint of smoked meat lead into a finish of rich currant jam. It isn't quite as lipsmacking and opulent as Châteauneuf, but it is every bit as compelling. That's exactly what I like about Lirac and Rudi's take on the region.
Gone are the days when these wines felt like they were trying to emulate their more famous neighbor. This is pure Lirac, made by someone we consider a dear friend and one of the region's top producers. Baron Louis remains a shining star in our Direct Import portfolio, and the 2020 is delicious now but absolutely worth discovering again after another few years in the cellar.