Description
Château Villargeil, Rivesaltes
We’ve now offered six of these ancient Rivesaltes bottlings, from various families in Southern France, and have doled them out in thimble-sized quantities each time. And, each time, they’ve swiftly sold out, never to be seen or heard from again. That was the case for today’s 1958 nectar back in March: 60 bottles in, 60 bottles quickly out. As usual, we thought there was no more, as did the importer, until about three weeks ago when an email popped into my inbox at 12:09 AM, indicating one last parcel had found its way overseas. I’ve never responded faster.
In 1958, gas cost about a quarter, NASA was founded, Palmer won his first Masters, and today’s 63-year-old fortified gem was being funneled into a single foudre, where it continuously slumbered until bottling in 2017. For us, experiences don’t get more intimate and extraordinarily profound than this. Although Château Villargeil’s 1958 Rivesaltes has only been savored by a few prestigious critics and lucky collectors, you all have a rare second opportunity to experience a legitimate piece of bygone history that has been preserved throughout generations. It holds luxuriously rich and evolved textures that stretch wide and deep, with a finish that nearly matches the six-decade journey to create this masterwork. Only two things about this sweet antique have changed since our first sellout offer in March: (1) we’re able to offer it at a lower price and (2) purchases must be capped at three per person.
This gem wouldn’t be in front of you without Philippe and Sandrine Gayral, a husband and wife treasure-hunting team who’ve spent the bulk of their careers scouring Southern France and uncovering these sacred, all-but-forgotten wine antiques. It all started roughly 20 years ago when they stumbled upon a cache of vin doux naturel that had been aging in barrels for generations. That discovery led to a startling revelation: Dozens of families from all over Rivesaltes had been quietly preserving small stocks of wine—not for resale, mind you, but rather as family heirlooms that were siphoned off for special occasions.
After tasting the first one, Philippe dedicated a career to scouring the countryside of Rivesaltes, Banyuls, and Maury in search of these “forgotten barrels.” He would meet with the families, who would then point them to their one or two barrels from decades past. Assuming nobody cared about the wine, some estates were ecstatic when he offered to buy the barrels and bottle them for resale. Others, however, took years of convincing. And then there were some estates that would tell them the barrel in question was from another local producer, bought by a friend of a friend long ago, so they would have to follow whatever breadcrumb trail remained. If that’s not a passion project, I don’t know what is!
Southern France’s Vin Doux Naturel (VDN), was first made in the 13th-century when ‘mutage’ was discovered. Put simply, this is a process where a neutral spirit is added to prematurely kill yeast and suspend fermentation, leaving a concentrated, sweet wine with elevated alcohol (essentially the same practice used to make Port, but this does not taste like port!). The Languedoc-Roussillon region has been the traditional home of these wines in appellations such as Maury, Banyuls, and today’s AOC of origin, Rivesaltes.
Not much confirmation can be gleaned from Château Villargeil, other than that they were a major provider for France’s sweet wine-loving contingent back in the mid-20th century. Really, the only vestiges of their existence today lie within this ‘58 and a couple of other bottlings, one of which dates back to 1938. Today’s offering predominantly consists of hand-harvested Grenache with small percentages of other local varieties that were fermented and fortified before resting in a foudre (a massive, old French barrel) for 59 consecutive years. It was bottled without any additives by Philippe in 2017.
For gems like this, I must always reiterate that it would be a crime to lose it in a cluster of wines at a party, so make sure you’re in a clear state of mind and in a quieter environment with close friends. One or two ounces should be served around 55-60 degrees in an all-purpose stem and savored slowly. Plus, because each sweet sip brings incalculable depth, power, and concentration, there’s no rush to consume your bottle: It can be enjoyed over several weeks and months if placed in the fridge with the cork tightly inserted, or further cellared for decades to come. The wine pours a deep, viscous amber and slowly wafts out opulent, intoxicating aromas of flambéed pear, orange marmalade, quince paste, candied hazelnut, nougat, caramel, cigar ash, loose tobacco, marzipan, caramel, fruit liqueur, and exotic spice. It’s incredibly rich and complex but with enough acidity, maturity, and savoriness to ward off any cloying sweetness. It only gets better as the days go by—enjoy.
