MCF Rare Wine
And the Awards Go To...
Blue Ribbon Wines of July 2019
It's late July here at the shop and everywhere else, I'd imagine, as well. The days are long and hot and you sit languishing on your porch. The book you bought at the airport on your way to vacation earlier this month sits on the table next to you, still unread. A half-drunk glass of rosé sits next to the book, glistening, threatening to warm too quickly in the early afternoon sun. The kids are at camp. The county fair is only a couple of days away but your award-winning peach pie recipe is perfected. Boredom is rearing its ugly head. Suddenly you think, "I wonder what great offers I may have missed out on from MCF Rare Wine this month." And in a bit of summer magic, you get a notification at that exact moment that this very email has arrived in your inbox.
Below are the "Blue Ribbon" wines that we have offered over the past month (that are still available!) with some abbreviated descriptions and links to the original longer offers if you'd like to further investigate.
A KILLER CHATEAUNEUF
Domaine de Ferrand Chateauneuf du Pape 2016 $57/btl
A showstopper of a Chateauneuf du Pape from the very highly regarded 2016 vintage with a floral, dark-fruited, smoky, herbaceous nose that forces you to linger over it. The palate follows through as well, offering wonderful texture, elegance, energy, supple richness and spice that leads you into a long and graceful finish. Perfect for both summer grilling and heartier fall/winter dishes. This bottle has many years of great life ahead.
THE RETURN OF LUIGI TECCE TAURASI*
Luigi Tecce Taurasi Riserva Puro Sangue 2013 $74/btl (net, REG $84)
Stunning complexity and floral elegance from 'Italy's most important winemaker' (in our humble opinion). Super old-school, traditional Aglianico with a surprising level of refinement considering its youth and producer. Whereas the Puro Sangue's sibling Poliphemo is a brute monster (in all the best ways) meant for a long sleep, the Puro Sangue manages to contain similarly dense tannins that behave themselves and allow the aromatic elegance to announce itself long before this wine reaches its full maturity. A mind-blowingly great bottle!
*Please note that we have 3 cases of the Puro Sangue available but the Poliphemo from the original offer link is sold out.
A WHITE BURG DEAL
Louis Jadot Meursault Les Tillets 2015
Release Price $85/btl
Our Shelf Price $79/btl
Email Special Price $69/btl
Email Special Case-of-12 Price $66/btl (net)
A focused, taut and nicely developed glass of classic Meursault. This wine contains the the great backbone, the tightly packed density and the wonderfully citric profile that you've come to expect from the appellation, and, because of the generosity of 2015, it offers up a nice bit of chew at the edges, all before zipping off the back with nice, focused minerality.
A TRIO OF TRADITIONAL 2015 BAROLO
Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis 2015 $65/btl (net, REG $75)
Dark, muscular, very firmly structured Barolo from one of our all-time favorite producers with an undeniable elegance and balance that shines through even in a warm vintage. Plenty of aromatic precision and clarity buried inside the dark, dense fruit and structure here. Another brilliant wine from Cavallotto that will benefit from a long slumber.
Cascina Chicco Barolo Rocche di Castelletto 2015 $61/btl (net, REG $69)
In their youth, Chiccos are very racy and high-toned, with a tightly wound set of aromatics and very fine tannins that, tasted blind, call to mind more Alto Piemonte than of something from the Langhe. As they age, though, they unlock their inner Barolo, releasing all manner of classic, weightier Nebbiolo character, all while retaining a wonderful sense of agility. All of that definitely applies to this taut, finely-delineated 2015 Rocche. It's certainly broader and endowed with a bigger frame from the 2015 vintage, but it's still a fragrant, high-flying race car of a wine, begging to be enjoyed by those of you who love the flowery side of Barolo.
Chionetti Barolo Primo 2015 $89/btl (net, REG $99)
The very first release of Barolo from Chionetti, for years a benchmark producer of Dolcetto di Dogliani, churning out gem after ageworthy gem from Piedmont's 'third' grape. This 2015 'Primo' is a gorgeous, focused, mineral Barolo that is super coiled up around its impressively firm, tree-trunk of a backbone. There's so much to love about the texture and disposition of this wine but, especially on the nose, the hints of what's to come are what's truly enticing. The profile is decidedly perfumed, but the structure here leads one to believe that, as this wine loosens up, it'll put on plenty of weight as well.
A DUO OF LOIRE REDS
Patrick Lambert Chinon Les Deuzelles 2017 $20/btl
A softer, younger drinking style of Cabernet Franc. This features the typical dark fruit and herbal, floral aromas of a Chinon but with a particular focus on the fruit and freshness and less so on the modicum of tannic structure that can also be found in your Loire Cab Francs. This is a juicier, more everyday version of the varietal, with the term 'everyday' connoting its deliciousness and versatility, as opposed to any sort of ordinariness.
Bernard Baudry Chinon Clos Guillot 2016
Baudry is my sentimental favorite Cab Franc producer but his wines stand on far more than sentiment. They are dark, mineral, herbaceous. well-built gems. This is certainly a more structured Cab Franc than the Lambert and it will age quite gracefully over the next decade or so. I definitely recommend grabbing some of these for the cellar but it is also worthy of drinking a few bottles now and will play nicely with some of the more substantial dishes that you enjoy this summer.
You may order by emailing chris@mcf-rarewine.com or calling either 732.675.4623 or 212.255.8870.
