Rosenthal Wine Merchant
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Rosenthal Wine Merchant is composed of a close-knit group of people who understand that wine is an agricultural product and that in its best and purest form, wine must reflect a specific sense of place. They share the goal of communicating this concept to a growing audience by presenting the finest examples of wine made in the classical western European tradition.
This endeavor started in 1977 as a humble, one-man retail operation located in New York City but very much outside the mainstream of the wine business. Neal Rosenthal, having stepped away from his corporate and international law practice, conceived of this project. Joined shortly thereafter by his partner, (Ms.) Kerry Madigan, the two expanded their fledgling company, known as Rosenthal Wine Merchant ("RWM"), from its retail base to become an importer and distributor of fine wine and specialty food products.
The objective from the outset was to work as directly as possible with growers who were dedicated to producing limited quantities of the finest quality wines and who shared the RWM passion for terroir, that ephemeral "sense of place." California in 1979 and then into France and Italy in January 1980 were the initial explorations. Since that time, the Rosenthal portfolio has grown to focus solely on European producers which encompass almost every viticulture area of France, a broad range of wines from Italy, the high mountain areas of the Valais and Vaud districts of Switzerland, Spanish Catalonia and four of Austria's major wine growing regions. The wines are selected for concentration, purity of flavors, and clarity of expression. All products brought to the marketplace by RWM are produced in as natural a manner as possible; Neal Rosenthal believes strongly in sustainable and organic agriculture.
Rosenthal Wine Merchant is proud of the fact that their selection is distinctive and expresses a consistent style. They have never purchased wine to simply fill a slot or a missing appellation. Each grower is visited twice yearly to follow the evolution of the wines and to track the development of each estate. The entire sales staff also visits each grower so that the nuances of each domaine can be successfully communicated to the American marketplace.
Media Links
Punch: Neal Rosenthal | Founder, Rosenthal Wine Merchant
Vinography.com: Book Review: Reflections of a Wine Merchant by Neal Rosenthal
